^¥/?t    .The  Tracks  and  Landfalls 


BERING  AND  CHIRIKOF 

ON    THE 

Northwest  Coast  of  America 


From  the  Point  of  Their  Separation  in  Latitude  49°  10', 

LoEgitude  176°  40'  West,  to  Their  Return 

to  the  Same  Meridian. 


June,  July,  August,  September.  October, 
1741. 


GEORGE  DAVIDSON 
President  of  the  Geographical  Society  of  the  Pacific. 


(Private  Publication.) 


'ut  in  Print  October  31 
1901 


The  Tracks  and  Landfalls 

OF 

BERING  AND  CHIRIKOF 

ON    THE 

Northwest  Coast  of  America. 


From  the  Point  of  Their  Separation  in  Latitude  49    10' 

Longitude  176°  40'  West,  to  Their  Return 

to  the  Same  Meridian. 


June,  Jul}',  August,  September,  October 
1741. 


GEORGE  DAVIDSON 
President  of  the  Gkographical  Society  of  the  Pacific. 


Private  Publication 


Put  in  Print  October  31 
1901 


THE  TRACKS   AND  LANDFALLS  OF   BERING  AND  CHI- 
RIKOF  ON  THE  NORTHWEST  COAST  OF   AMERICA, 
FROM  THE   POINT  OF  THEIR  SEPARATION   IN 
LATITUDE  49°  lo',  LONGITUDE  176°  40'  WEST 
TO  THEIR  RETURN  TO  THE  SAME  MERID- 
IAN.   JUNE,  JULY,  AUGUST,  SEPTEM- 
BER, OCTOBER,   1 74 1. 

GEORGE    DAVIDSON. 
Read  in  part  before  the  Geographical  Society  of  the  Pacific,  June  sgth,  iSgS. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

Introductory 5 

The  Projicts  of  Peter  the  Gre.it,  and  the  Earlier  Discoveries  of  Bering  .   .  6 

Some  Pertinent  Facts  in  Russian  Political  History,  1730  /i)  1741 8 

Bering  Proposes  a  Voyage  of  Discovery  and  Exploration  to  the  Northwest 

Coast  of  America g 

The  Senate,  the  Academy,  and  the  Admiralty  Enlarge  Bering's  Project .    .  10 

The  Expedition  Starts  in  111}, n 

Building  Vessels  on  the  Irtysch  for  the  First  Arctic  Expedition 12 

Three  Years  Labor  on  the  Lena 12 

Bering  Moves  Forward  to  Okhotsk 13 

Two  Brigs  Are  Built  and  Sail  for  Kamchatka.  ..........  14 

The  Two  Vessels  Leave  Petropaulovsk  for  the  American  Coast i6 

The  Vessels  are  Separated  in  a  Storm 16 

The  Different  Courses  of  the  Vessels 17 

Chirikof  Makes  the  First  Lindfall.    His  Progress  Therefrom 17 

A  Terrible  Disaster  Befalls  Chirikof  and  His  People 19 

In  What  Great  Bay  Were  the  Boats  and  Men  of  the  St.  Paul  Lost  f  .   .   .    .  21 


99702 


CONTENTS— Continued. 

Page 

The  Cruising  of  the  St.  Paul  After  Leaving  Sitka  Sound 25 

The  Approach  and  Landfall  of  Bering.     Ml.  St.  Elias.     The  Progress  of 

Bering 26 

The  St.  Peter  Anchors  Under  Kayak  Island 28 

Bering  Leaves  His  Anchorage.    Unjust  Criticisms 29 

The  St.  Peter  Pursues  Her  Voyage  Toward  the  Southwest 31 

Cape  Hermogenes,  Kadiak  Island.      32 

The  St.  Peter  Passes  Through  Douglas  Channel  Into  Shelikof  Strait .   .   .  34 

Bering  Approaches  the  Simidi  Group 36 

The  Adjustment  between  the  Simidi  and  Shumagin  Groups 36 

The  Movements  of  Chirikof  from  August  ist,  When  Off  Cape  Elizabeth.    .  37 

The  Two  Vessels  Close  to  Each  Other  for  Many  Days 38 

Bering" s  Survey  of  the  Shumagin  Islands 39 

Bering's  Health  Breaks  Down.     Waxell  in  Command 40 

Conclusion.     Character  of  the  Men  of  the  Expedition 41 

Appendix:    Bering's  First  Anchorage  Under  Kayak  Island.      The  Name 

by  different  authorities 43 

Chart  of  the  Adjusted  Tracks  and  Landfalls  of  Bering  and  Chirikof  on  the 

Northwest  Coast  of  America 45 


Introductory. 

It  is  many  j-ears  since  we  commenced  the  identification  and 
reconciliation  of  the  landfalls  of  the  early  Spanish  and  English  navi- 
gators on  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America;  especially  those  of 
Ulloa,  Cabrillo,  Ferrelo,  Drake,  Vizcaino  and  Aguilar,  from  1539 
to  1603.  Following  their  heroic  achievements  was  a  lull  of  Span- 
ish exploration  on  this  Coast  for  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  years. 
Then  came  the  long  series  of  Spanish  discoveries  and  surveys  from 
1769  to,  and  overlapping  the  explorations  of  Cook,  La  Pcrouse  and 
Vancouver,  from  1778  to  1794,  which  had  been  prompted  by  Spanish 
activity. 

In  that  long  interval  there  were  two  important  and  remarkable 
expeditions  made  by  the  ambitious  and  irrepressible  Russians  in 
the  North  Pacific  which  led  to  Bering's  discovery  of  the  East  Cape 
of  Asia  at  Bering  Strait  in  1728;  the  charting  of  the  Kurils  and  their 
relation  to  Japan  by  Spauberg  in  i738-'39;  and  the  discovery  of  the 
southwest  coast  of  Alaska,  and  part  of  the  great  chain  of  the  Aleutian 
Islands  in  1741.  Moreover  the  latter  experience  of  the  St.  Peter  and 
the  St.  Paul  wiped  from  the  Northwest  Pacific,  the  mythical  "Gama- 
land"of  De  1'  Isle's  map;  the  "Grand  Isa.  dijezoelunga"  of  Dudley's 
Arcano  del  Mare  1647,  only  three  hundred  nautical  miles  from  the 
Coast  of  Oregon  in  latitude  46°,  and  the  "I  :  di  Jezo,"  of  the  earlier 
Miinchen  MS.  chart,  only  one  hundred  and  eighty  nautical  miles 
from  Oregon  in  the  same  latitude. 

These  Russian  expeditions  demanded  far  greater  labor,  time  and 
endurance  than  those  of  Spain,  England  or  France. 

The  literature  which  we  have  concerning  the  achievements  of 
Bering  and  Chirikof,  so  far  as  we  can  reach  it  upon  this  Coast,  is 
very  meagre,  and  not  satisfactory:  so  that  it  seemed  almost  imprac- 
ticable to  reconcile  all  their  tracks  and  landfalls.  Their  longitudes 
were  worthless,  for  they  differed  1-3°  or  400  nautical  miles;  the  lati- 
tudes were  not  always  reliable;  the  descriptions  of  the  coasts  were 
not  consistent  and  wholly  lacked  details  and  elevations;  while  the 
dead  reckoning  was  delusive,  and  the  currents  were  an  unknown 
quantity,  and  treacherous.  We  know  comparatively  little  of  the 
currents  to  this  day. 


6  The    Tracks  and  Landfalls  of 

Moreover,  among  some  writers  there  has  been  quite  an  exhibition 
of  feeling  or  adverse  criticism,  where  in  reality  the  largest  praise 
and  consideration  was  due  to  each  and  every  of  the  heroes  who  had 
helped  to  successfully  accomplish  a  great  undertaking  without 
regard  to  personal  comfort  and  continuous  danger.  Their  exploits 
recall  the  bravery,  tenacity  and  devotion  of  the  earlier  Spanish  dis- 
coverers and  the  supreme  daring  and  self-reliance  of  those  arch- 
freebooters  Drake,  Cavendish  and  Dampier. 

With  admiration  for  the  Russian  discoverers,  sympathy  with  their 
sufiFerings,  and  in  the  hope  of  reconciling  part  of  the  tracks  and 
landfalls  of  Bering  and  Chirikof,  aided  by  modern  charts  of  Alaska, 
and  some  little  knowledge  of  the  currents  and  climatic  conditions 
of  the  Northeast  Pacific,  we  have  so  far  succeeded  in  the  investiga- 
tion that  we  are  impelled  to  present  to  the  Geographical  Society  of  the 
Pacific,  a  chart  which  exhibits  the  positions  of  the  St.  Peter  and 
St.  Paul  from  the  night  of  their  separation  in  bad  weather,  June 
20-2I,  1741,  to  their  return  to  the  same  meridian  in  September  and 
October.  This  period  comprises  their  different  lines  of  approach  to 
the  West  Coast  of  Alaska,  their  landfalls,  and  their  approach  and 
examination  of  part  of  the  Aleutian  Islands. 

We  trust  this  effort  may  incite  others  with  larger  means  and 
facilities  to  disentangle  the  whole  of  their  tracks. 

Thb  Projects  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  the  Earlier  Dis- 
coveries OP  Bering. 

But  before  presenting  our  work  in  detail,  it  may  be  interesting 
to  recall  a  few  of  the  incidents  of  this  important  Russian  expedition, 
in  order  to  gain  a  fair  idea  of  the  almost  superhuman  labor  carried 
on  through  eight  years  of  preparation  to  fruition. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  when  the  Viceroy  Cortes  was  fitting  out 
his  Pacific  Coast  vessels  for  the  early  exploration  of  the  Western 
Coast  of  Mexico  and  California,  all  the  essential  materials  of  the 
ships,  such  as  anchors,  cables,  rigging,  canvass,  iron  work,  etc., 
were  carried  across  the  continent  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
(where  they  had  been  brought  from  Spain),  to  the  port  of  Navidad 
on  the  Pacific.     It  was  a  labor  that  cost  thousands  of  lives. 

And  so,  when  Peter  the  Great  essayed  voyages  along  the  Pacific 
seaboard  of  Asia,  most  of  the  ships'  outfits  were  carried  across 
Siberia  two  thousand  miles  and  more  through  the  most  desol^e 
regions  of  the  earth,  and  where  the  cold  of  winter  is  intense. 


Bering  and  Cldrikof  7 

Peter  the  Great  was  an  extraordinary  man  from  every  point  of 
view,  but  we  have  to  deal  with  him  from  one  standpoint  only. 
He  had  learned  the  craft  and  art  of  ship-building  in  England  and 
Holland,  and  was  therefore  able  to  decide  whence  he  could  obtain 
good  shipbuilders,  and  able  seamen  for  service  in  Russia.  He 
favored  Danes,  Norwegians,  Dutch  and  Englishmen. 

Vitus  Bering  was  a  Dane  by  birth,  and  he  naturally  took  to  a 
sea  life,  in  which  he  made  some  long  voyages  as  a  seaman.  Through 
the  influence  of  one  of  his  countrymen  in  the  naval  service  of 
Russia,  he  was  appointed  to  a  place  in  the  Baltic  fleet,  where  he 
developed  into  a  good  fighter,  and  a  bold  and  able  commander.  In 
the  Russian  service  his  name  was  Ivan  Ivanovich  Bering.  In  1724 
he  was  appointed  chief  of  the  finst  Kamchatkan  expedition,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  determine  whether  Asia  and  America  were 
connected. 

It  was  on  his  death-bed  in  December,  1724,  that  the  Emperor  dic- 
tated tbe  orders  for  Bering's  undertaking.  It  included  the  building 
of  decked  boats  or  small  vessels  '  'at  Kamchatka,  or  somewhere  else, " 
in  which  "to  sail  northward  therefrom  to  the  end  of  the  Coast, 
which  is  undoubtedly  America." 

This  expedition  was  unprecedented.  The  world  knew  nothing 
of  the  country  or  the  waters  to  be  traversed,  or  of  their  extent.  We 
now  know  that  the  East  Cape  of  Asia  lies  about  5,500  miles  in  a 
straight  line  from  St.  Petersburg.  The  country  was  inhospitable 
in  every  sense;  it  contained  endless  steppes,  forests,  morasses,  and 
fields  of  trackless  snow  in  winter.  It  embraced  the  pole  of  the  low- 
est temperature  on  the  earth.  The  inhabitants  were  sparse,  and 
without  resources.  Over  those  unprecedented  difficulties  Bering 
was  to  transport  enormous  provision  trains,  and  large  quantities  of 
material  for  ship  building;  but  he  was  worthy  the  trust  reposed  in 
him  by  his  Imperial  master. 

Emperor  and  Autocrat,  Peter  the  Great  died  Jan.  28,  1725. 
Chirikof,  the  second  in  command,  had  started  the  day  before;  Bering 
brought  up  the  rear  Feb.  5th.  One  year  was  consumed  in  reaching 
Tobolsk  on  the  Irtysch.  Next  year  he  built  barges  and  boats  on  the 
Lena  and  made  two  thousand  leathern  sacks  to  carry  flour  to 
Okhotsk,  nearly  seven  hundred  miles  distant.  On  the  route  the 
temperature  reached  minus  71°  Fahr. ;  and  the  "pourga"  or  blizzard 
of  Siberia  is  speedy  death  to  those  exposed  to  it.  On  the  last  of 
September,  1726,  he  reached  Okhotsk.  The  mass  of  the  party 
reached  there  late  in  October,  to  find  a  settlement  of  eleven  huts 


8  The   Tracks  and  Landfalls  of 

with  ten  Russian  families  who  lived  by  fishing.  The  expedition 
was  housed  in  December,  except  that  part  under  Spanberg  which 
was  caught  in  great  snow  storms  with  provisions  exhausted,  so  that 
they  ate  their  "straps,  leathern  bags  and  shoes."  The  rescue 
of  the  party  demanded  heroic  qualities,  which  Bering  put  forth  suc- 
cessfully. 

We  need  not  have  given  even  these  slender  details,  except  to 
show  the  character  of  Bering  and  his  ofScers.  They  were  all  men 
of  extraordinary  endurance  and  capacity.  They  were  worthy  of 
the  Autocrat  who  had  named  the  expedition,  and  left  them  to  carry 
it  out.  It  was  successfully  accomplished  in  1728,  by  Bering  sailing 
into  the  Arctic  Ocean  through  the  Bering  Strait  although  he  did 
not  see  the  northwest  Cape  of  America.  This  was  the  initiation  of 
Bering,   and  Chirikof,   and  Spanberg  for  any  greater  undertakings. 

Some    Pertinent   Facts    in    Russian     Political    History, 
1730  to  1741. 

In  justice  to  Bering,  it  seems  pertinent  to  present  a  few  facts  of 
Russian  political  history  during  the  short  period  from  1730  to  1741. 
They  do  not  reveal  the  motives  for  the  struggles  among  the  nobil- 
ity for  the  control  of  the  Government  ;  but  suggest  the  necessar}' 
conflict  of  opinions  about  the  preliminary  and  continuous  labors  of 
Bering  and  his  leading  ofEcers,  thousands  of  miles  away  from  head- 
quarters; with  no  mode  of  quick  communication.  The  wonder  is, 
that  in  the  fierce  domestic  and  foreign  issues  of  that  period  of  eleven 
years,  all  of  the  expeditions  were  not  incontinently  abandoned. 
There  would  seem  to  have  been  a  pervading  and  governing  idea 
among  those  in  power  that  discovery  and  exploration  would  extend 
the  Empire  and  its  influence.  These  troubles  also  point  to  the 
reason  why  so  many  complaints,  threats  and  indignities  were 
showered  upon  Bering. 

Some  years  before  the  death  of  Peter  the  Great  he  had  altered 
the  order  of  succession  to  the  throne  in  favor  of  the  Empress  Cath- 
erine. During  the  two  and  a  half  years  of  her  reign  and  rule  she 
consummated  many  wise  ameliorations  and  undertakings.  She 
died  May  17th,  1727,  having  settled  the  crown  upon  Peter  II,  the 
son  of  the  C/.arovitch  Alexei,  who  succeeded  by  the  title  of  Peter 
II.  He  was  then  only  twelve  years  old.  For  some  time  he  was 
controlled  by  Prince  MenzikoiT  who  had  risen  from  obscurity.  This 
prince  was  banished  to  Siberia  bj'  the  influence  of  the  Dolgourki 


Bering  and  Chirikof  9 

family,  who  took  into  their  hands  the  management  of  Government 
affairs.  In  1730  Peter  II  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  Anna, 
Duchess  of  Courland,  through  the  influence  of  the  Senate  and  nobil- 
ity, who  set  aside  the  order  of  succession  established  by  Peter  the 
Great  and  the  Empress  Catherine.  Her  reign  was  extremely  pros- 
perous, although  there  was  a  rupture  between  Russia  and  Turkey 
in  1735.  Campaign  followed  campaign  on  the  borders  of  Turkey, 
with  the  loss  of  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  men  and  vast 
sums  of  money,  until  the  treaty  of  1739  was  concluded.  The  death 
of  the  Empress  took  place  in  1740;  then  followed  the  regency  of 
Princess  Anna  of  Mecklenburg,  during  which  a  new  war  commenced 
between  Russia  and  Sweden.  In  1741  the  Princess  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Peter  the  Great  by  Catherine  was  proclaimed  Empress 
on  the  6th  of  December,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  that  date  the  troops 
took  the  oath. 


Bering  Proposes  a  Vovagk  of  Discovery  and  Exploration 
TO  THE  Northwest  Coast  of  America. 

In  1730  Bering  returned  to  St.  Petersburg  from  his  discovery 
of  the  East  Cape  of  Asia  at  Bering  Strait.  In  1731  his  map  was 
made  in  Moscow,  but  within  two  months  after  his  return,  when  he 
submitted  his  report  to  the  Admiralty,  he  also  submitted  a  project 
for  a  still  greater  scheme  of  Pacific  exploration. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  throw  doubt  on  Bering's  work  by  a 
body  of  discontents  who  built  up  charges  against  the  truthfulness 
of  his  map.  The  Academy  of  Sciences  would  not  use  it.  Intrigues, 
jealousies  and  machinations  pervaded  the  atmosphere.  Fortunately 
the  Government  recognized  the  map  as  authentic.  Bering  was  pro- 
moted in  regular  order  to  the  rank  of  Captain  Commander  in  the 
Russian  iieet,  the  next  below  the  rank  of  Rear  Admiral. 

Peter  the  Great  had  been  dead  five  years,  but  the  Duchess  of 
Courland,  Anna  Ivanova,  a  daughter  of  the  Emperor's  half-brother 
Ivan,  had  ascended  the  throne.  She  maintained  her  Court  at  Mos- 
cow. In  April  17th,  1732,  the  Empress  ordered  that  Bering's  propo- 
sition for  a  more  extended  exploration  across  the  Pacific  should  be 
executed;  and  charged  the  Senate  to  take  the  necessarj'  steps  for 
that  purpose. 


lO  The   Tracks  and  Landfalls  of 

The  Senate,  the  Academy,  and   the   Admiralty  Enlarge 
Bering's  Project. 

The  Senate  departed  from  Bering's  project  and  planned  a  triple 
expedition;  and  in  the  process  of  homologating  an  avalanche  of 
suggestions  from  the  members  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  and 
from  the  Admiralty,  that  body  outlined,  in  extenso,  the  character 
of  the  physical,  nautical,  and  geographic  explorations  to  be  under- 
taken by  the  expedition.  Siberia  was  to  be  mapped;  the  Arctic  shores 
were  to  be  charted;  the  Coast  of  America  was  to  be  outlined  to 
Mexico;  the  Kuril  Islands  and  Japan  were  to  be  laid  down.  If 
America  proved  to  be  connected  with  the  Tchutchi  peninsula,  one 
party  was  to  attempt  to  find  European  colonies.  To  the  really  nau- 
tical and  geographic  explorations  the  Academy  of  Sciences  had  the 
influence  to  demand  a  scientific  exploration  of  Siberia  and  Kam- 
chatka. The  personnel  and  outfit  of  this  part  of  the  expedition  is 
painfully  but  supremely  amusing,  with  its  landscape  artists,  the 
many  wagon  loads  of  instruments,  the  riding  horses,  and  the  library 
which  embraced  the  classics  and  light  reading.  Those  persons 
selected  were,  of  course,  utterly  ignorant  of  the  conditions  of  the 
countries  they  were  to  traverse.  This  unwieldy  part  of  the  expedi- 
tion looked  to  Bering  for  its  comforts  and  conveniences;  for  boats 
to  cross  the  rivers;  for  special  assistance  in  flank  examinations.  He 
was  expected  to  act  as  their  dry  nurse  as  well  as  leader.  Yet  he 
had  no  authority  over  this  remarkably  heterogeneous  congregation 
of  supposed  scientific  men.  It  would  have  required  some  one  with 
superhuman  power  and  angelic  disposition  to  have  satisfied  a  small 
fraction  of  them.  We  can  easily  guess  at  the  inevitable  results. 
They  ceaselessly  stormed  Bering  with  complaints  and  counter 
charges;  entered  them  and  their  judgments  in  their  records;  and 
threatened  formal  charges  against  him  to  the  Senate.  They  never 
offered  to  assist  him. 

Von  Baer  says  that  no  other  geographic  enterprise  can  be  com- 
pared in  vastness  or  sacrifice  with  the  titanic  undertakings  that 
were  loaded  upon  Bering,  and  actually  carried  out  by  him.  H.  H. 
Bancroft,  in  his  "History  of  Alaska"  (p.  42)  says:  "The  second 
"Kamchatka  expedition  *  *  *  was  the  most  brilliant  effort 
"toward  scientific  discovery  which  up  to  this  time  had  been  made 
"by  any  government."  He  further  .says  that  "Bering  was  strong 
"in  body  and  clear  of  mind  even  when  near  sixty;  an  acknowledged 
"man  of  intelligence,  honesty,  and  irreproachable  conduct,  though 


Doing  and  Chirikof  ii 

"in  his  later  years  he  displayed  excessive  carefulness  and  indecision 
"of  character,  governed  too  much  by  temper  and  caprice,  and  sub- 
"mitting  too  easily  to  the  influence  of  subordinates."  When  we 
read  of  the  trials  he  endured,  the  opposition  he  met  with,  the 
gigantic  difficulties  he  overcame  and  the  physical  disabilities  that 
necessarily  grew  upon  him  by  continued  exposure,  we  need  not 
marvel  if  at  sixty  years  of  age  he  seemed  to  lack  the  vigor  of  his 
earlier  life.  At  the  time  of  the  organization  of  these  great  expedi- 
tions, Bering  was  not  yet  fifty-two  years  of  age;  and  must  have  been 
in  the  very  prime  of  his  manhood.  Any  but  an  extraordinary  man 
who  cheerfully  obeyed  the  orders  of  an  autocrat  would  have  thrown 
up  the  almost  superhuman  task. 

Bering  must  be  judged  by  the  times  in  which  he  lived;  by  the 
character  of  those  in  authority;  by  the  vagueness  of  his  instructions; 
by  the  fitness  and  unfitness  and  jealousies  of  the  people  who  were 
under  him;  by  the  great  extent  and  desQlateness  of  the  country  he 
traversed  destitute  of  roads  and  sparse  in  population;  by  the  neces- 
sity of  his  establishing  iron  foundries  in  the  midst  of  Siberia;  by  his 
building  ships  with  which  to  make  his  explorations  across  unknown 
seas  with  almost  constant  fogs;  by  the  presence  of  that  scourge  of 
navigator  and  sailor,  the  scurvy. 

The  difficulties  to  be  overcome  demanded  a  man  of  supreme  self- 
reliance,  great  physical  ability  and  large  resources.  And  it  may  be 
asserted  that  until  Bering  was  attacked  by  scurvy  he  was  equal 
to  all  emergencies.  It  seems  impossible  for  any  man  at  the  present 
day  to  put  himself  in  Bering's  place;  and  therefore  flippant  criticism 
and  prejudiced  opinions  must  be  promptly  pushed  aside  as  unworthy 
of  respect  or  consideration. 

The  Expedition  Starts  in  1733. 

As  the  period  for  the  departure  of  the  expedition  approached,  the 
Empress  Anna,  in  consideration  of  the  distance,  difficulties  and  pri- 
vations to  be  endured  and  the  objects  to  be  gained,  doubled  every 
salary.  They  were  going  to  an  unexplored  country  for  an  unknown 
time,  and  nearly  all  the  officers  and  the  rank  and  file  took  their 
wives  with  them.  The  Admiralty  estimated  the  time  at  six  years, 
but  the  most  of  the  people  were  going  for  sixteen,  and  the  latter 
were  more  nearly  correct  in  their  estimate. 

On  the  1st  of  February,  1733,  the  first  detachment  started;  by 
August   the   scientists   brought   up  the  rear  and   moved   towards 


12  The  Tracks  and  Landfalls  of 

Kazan.     There  were  five  hundred  and  seventy  officers  and  men,  and 
thirty  or  forty  Academicians. 

The  meagre  recital  of  the  movement  hence  to  Kamchatka  is  full 
of  trouble,  grumbling  and  complaints;  the  scientific  men,  the  mis- 
sionaries, the  contractors,  the  Siberian  authorities,  and  the  subordi- 
nates bred  incessant  friction  and  discontent.  On  Bering  necessarily 
fell  all  the  odium  attending  the  faults  and  misfortunes  of  this  crude 
and  incongruous  mass  of  humanity.  That  he  was  not  a  Russian 
born  added  bitterness  to  the  complaints  sent  back  to  St.  Petersburg. 

Building  Vessels  on  the  Irtysch   for  the   First  Arctic 
Expedition. 

In  1734  Bering  built  two  vessels  and  four  rafts  at  Tobolsk  on  the 
Irtysch  (latitude  58°)  for  the  first  Arctic  expedition  which  left  there 
on  May  13th,  and  five  days  later  he  left  with  the  main  command 
and  the  Academicians  for  Yakutsk  on  the  Lena  (latitude  62°)  which 
he  reached  in  October.  Chirikof  arrived  in  the  spring  of  1735  with 
the  larger  part  of  the  supplies.  Here  Bering  found  no  preparations 
as  previously  ordered  by  the  government;  yet  in  the  course  of  six 
months  he  had  two  large  vessels  built  for  the  second  Arctic  expedi- 
tion; and  these  with  four  barges  started  down  the  Lena  on  the  30th 
of  June,  1835,  to  cruise  along  the  Arctic  shore.  One  vessel  was  to 
chart  the  coast  from  the  Lena  westward  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Yenisei.  The  other  was  to  cruise  along  the  Arctic  coast  to  the 
Bering  Peninsula,  and  then,  if  it  was  a  geographical  possibility,  to 
sail  southward  along  the  coast  of  the  peninsula  of  Kamchatka.  This 
project  of  Arctic  exploration  was  planned  and  thus  successfully 
.  inaugurated  by  Bering  himself. 

Three  Years  of  Labor  on  the  Lena. 

To  these  duties  he  added  others.  In  the  vicinity  of  Yakutsk  he 
established  an  iron  foundry  and  furnace,  whence  the  various  vessels 
were  supplied  with  anchors  and  all  other  articles  of  iron. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  upon  the  difficulties  and  the  opposition 
which  Bering  met  with  at  Yakutsk.  Here  he  was  compelled  to 
wait  and  labor  for  three  years.  The  Academicians  were  busy  at 
Yakutsk,  and  their  exorbitant  demands  for  conveniences  and  luxu- 
ries led  to  strained  relations  with  the  Captain  Commander.  Unsat- 
isfactory news  came  from  the  expedition's  to  the  Arctic,  and  Bering 


Doing  and  Chirikof  13 

personally  superintended  the  sending  of  provisions  to  supply  the 
magazines  on  that  coast. 

Charges  were  sent  to  the  Admiralty  and  to  the  Senate  by  every 
disgruntled  and  dissatisfied  officer  and  by  the  Siberian  authorities. 
Much  more  money  had  been  spent  than  had  been  expected,  and  the 
Admiralty  found  it  difficult  to  supply  the  necessary  funds.  They 
threatened  to  fine  Bering  and  to  court-martial  him,  and  they  even 
withheld  his  supplemental  salary  for  years.  Hard  drinking  and  a 
hundred  accessory  troubles,  with  constant  wrangling  among  the 
officers  and  their  wives  must  have  nearly  broken  up  all  discipline. 
And  to  add  to  this  process  of  disorganization  the  Admiralty  author- 
ized Bering's  second  in  command,  Lieutenant  Chirikof,  to  investi- 
gate a  series  of  charges  against  him.  It  surely  required  a  man  of 
nerve  of  steel,  integrity  of  purpose  and  obedience  to  his  original 
orders  to  stand  up  against  such  a  band  of  gruff  and  unruly  brawlers, 
gathered  from  all  quarters  of  the  world. 

From  the  description  of  Bering's  characteristics,  drawn  up  by  his 
naturalist  friend  Steller,  it  is  possible  that  he  held  under  control 
that  audacity  of  command  which  would  have  promptly  stamped  out 
insubordination  in  such  emergencies.  He  knew  the  character  of 
the  men  he  was  dealing  with.  Steller  says:  "He  was  a  true  and 
"honest  Christian;  noble,  kind,  unassuming  in  conduct,  and  uni- 
"versally  loved  by  his  subordinates,  high  as  well  as  low.  *  *  He 
"was  not  naturally  a  man  of  quick  resolve,  but  when  one  considers 
"his  fidelity  to  duty,  his  cheerful  spirit  of  perseverance  and  careful 
"deliberation,  it  is  a  question  whether  another  possessed  of  more 
"fire  and  ardor,  could  have  overcome  the  innumerable  difficulties  of 
"the  expedition  without  having  completely  ruined  those  distant 
"regions;  for  even  Bering  far  removed  from  all  selfishness,  was 
"scarcely  able  in  this  regard  to  keep  his  men  in  check."*  Von 
Baer  says:  "The  whole  expedition  was  planned  on  such  a  monstrous 
"scale  that  under  any  other  chief  it  would  have  foundered  without 
"having  accomplished  any  results  whatever."* 

Bering  Moves  Forward  to  Oxhotsk. 

In  the  summer  of  1737  Bering  moved  forward  to  Okhotsk,  where 

Spanberg  had  gone  to  build  a  new  town.     This  settlement  embraced 

a  church,  houses  for  officers,   barracks  for  the  men,  magazines,  a 

large  dockyard  and  other  buildings.     The  old  stockaded  post  was 

•NOTE,     "Vl 

lated  from  the 
pages  97  98. 


14  The   Tracks  and  Latidfalls  of 

four  miles  farther  in  the  country.  The  town  was  very  badly  located, 
for  even  the  drinking  water  had  to  be  brought  a  distance  of  two 
miles. 

SolokofiF,  who  did  not  write  in  behalf  of  Berinq^,  says:  "Bering 
"staid  three  years  in  Okhotsk,  exerting  himself  to  the  utmost  in 
''equipping  expeditions,  enduring  continual  vexations  from  the 
"Siberian  government.  *  *  *  During  all  this  time  he  was 
"sternly  and  unreasonably  treated  by  the  Admiralty,  which  show- 
"ered  upon  him  threats  and  reproaches  for  slowness,  sluggishness 
"and  disorder,  for  false  reports  and  ill-timed  accounts."  Else- 
where he  says:  "Bering  was  well-informed,  eager  for  knowledge, 
"pious,  kind-hearted  and  honest,  but  too  cautious  and  indecisive." 
*  *  *  "Hence  he  was  not  particularly  well  qualified  to  lead  this 
"great  enterprise,  especially  in  such  a  dark  century,  and  in  such  a 
"barbaric  country  as  East  Siberia." 

The  pest  of  Bering's  life  was  the  infamous  Pissarjeff,  the 
"branded"  Governor  who  arrived  at  the  same  time  and  made  his 
quarters  at  the  old  stockaded  post  or  fort  at  Okhotsk.  Bering  says 
he  was  foul  mouthed  and  extremely  offensive.  Spanberg  asked 
Bering  for  authority  to  go  and  arrest  the  old  knave. 

The  site  of  Okhotsk  was  at  the  junction  of  the  Okhotsk  and 
Kukhta,  on  a  low,  sandy,  narrow  delta  subject  to  inundation. 
The  climate  was  particularly  unhealthy,  with  a  cold,  raw  fog  hang- 
ing over  the  region  almost  continually.  The  party  was  weakened 
by  fevers;  and  in  this  swampy  place  Bering  lost  his  health. 

At  Okhotsk,  Spanberg  pushed  forward  the  building  of  two  new 
vessels,  and  the  repairing  of  two  others  for  his  own  expedition  to 
chart  the  Kuril  Islands  and  Japan;  and  in  September,  1738,  he  was 
ready  for  sea.  In  two  summer  seasons  he  charted  the  Kurils,  Yezo, 
and  part  of  Hondo.  These  expeditions  exhausted  the  provisions 
at  Okhotsk;  and  Bering  made  demands  upon  the  districts  of  Tobolsk 
and  Verkhoiansk  for  supplies. 

Two  Brigs  are  Built  and  Sail  for  Kamchatka. 
The  timber  for  the  construction  of  his  vessels  had  to  be  brought 
twenty-five  miles,  but  in  the  month  of  June,  1740,  Bering  had  com- 
pleted the  two  ships  for  the  expedition  to  America;  they  were 
launched,  and  named  the  St.  Peter,  and  the  St.  Paul.  They  were 
brig  rigged;  each  was  80  feet  long,  22  feet  beam,  and  g'i  feet  depth 
of  hold;  they  were  each  of  108  tons  burthen,  and  carried  14  two 
and  three  pounders. 


Bering  and  Chirikof  15 

These  vessels,  with  a  galley  and  large  sloop,  were  ready  to  sail 
for  Kamchatka  in  August,  but  delays  prevented  their  sailing 
until  September  8th.  They  were  provisioned  for  twenty  months, 
and  destined  to  rendezvous  in  Avatcha  Bay  on  the  Pacific  Coast  of 
Kamchatka,  in  latitude  52°  53'.  Here  Chirikof  arrived  in  the  latter 
part  of  September  and  Bering  on  the  6th  of  October.  The  harbor 
had  been  selected  by  the  mate  of  Chirikof,  Yelagin,  who  had 
erected  a  few  buildings.  Bering  approved  the  selection  of  the  har- 
bor, and  built  a  fort,  and  a  church  consecrated  to  the  Virgin  Mary. 
The  harbor  was  named  after  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  Petropaulovsk. 

The  vessels  were  frozen  in  all  winter,  and  in  May,  1741,  the  ice 
broke  up,  and  Bering  could  supply  his  ships  with  rather  poor  pro- 
visions for  only  five  and  a  half  months.  It  is  said  that  Bering's 
powers  of  resistance  began  to  wane  after  his  eight  years  of  inces- 
sant labor  and  anxiety,  and  the  effects  of  the  malarial  climate  of 
Okhotsk. 

Lieut.  Chirikof,  the  commander  of  the  St.  Paul,  was  well  educated, 
courageous  and  straightforward;  bright  of  intellect,  and  thoughtful. 
The  cruel  naval  service  had  never  been  able  to  debase  him.  Ban- 
croft says  it  is  remarkable  that  in  all  the  accounts  of  quarrels  be- 
tween the  heads  of  the  various  departments  of  scientists  and  uaval 
officers  serving  under  Bering's  command,  the  name  of  Chirikof  is 
never  found.  He  seems  to  have  had  the  good  will  of  everyone  and 
to  have  escaped  all  complaints  from  superiors. 

After  the  vessels  had  left  port  the  characteristics  of  both  men 
naturally  came  to  the  front.  As  in  some  similar  expeditions,  Span- 
berg's  for  instance,  the  second  in  command  may  have  been  humanly 
anxious  to  make  independent  discoveries.  This  peculiarity  maybe 
traced  in  every  similar  expedition  to  the  present  day. 

Bering  and  Chirikof  were  apparently  doubtful  about  the  success 
of  the  proposed  voyage  of  exploration,  because  a  council  of  officers 
was  called  to  consider  the  best  mode  of  procedure.  This  was  in 
accordance  with  Russian  uaval  practice  and  orders.  It  was  a  great 
misfortune  that  the  representations  of  Louis  de  I'Isle  de  la  Croyere 
had  influence  in  the  council.  The  brother  of  Louis  had  constructed 
a  supposititious  map  of  great  islands  stretching  far  east  of  Japan; 
and  before  the  expedition  left  St.  Petersburg,  the  Senate  ordered 
Bering  and  Chirikof  to  consult  with  Louis,  who  was  really  no 
geographer.  This  was  peculiarly  unfortunate  because  the  Navi- 
gators believed  they  should  «ail  to  the  north  of  east;  whereas  the 
project  of  finding  the  mythical  land  of  Jean  de  Gima  would  require 


1 6  The   Tracks  mid  Landfalls  of 

a  course  southeastwardly.  In  1738  Spanberg  had  sailed  directly 
over  the  positions  of  some  of  these  mythical  lands,  and  Bering  there- 
fore knew  that  the  de  I'lsle  chart  was  a  fraud.  Bering  and  Chirikof 
could  not  muster  courage  to  contemn  the  mandate  of  the  Senate. 
The  action  of  the  several  officers  of  each  vessel,  under  every  con- 
ceivable emergency,  was  determined  by  the  Council.  The  hands  of 
the  Commanders  were  therefore  tied. 

Thk  Two  Vessels  Leave  Petrop.^ulovsk  for  the  American 
Coast. 

The  vessels  were  made  ready  to  sail.  The  St.  Peter,  under  com- 
mand of  Bering  had  seventy-seven  officers  and  men  including  the 
naturalist  Steller.  On  the  St.  Paul  Lieut.  Alexei  Chirikof  had 
seventy-six  officers  and  men  among  whom  was  La  Croyere.  Each 
vessel  had  only  two  boats. 

After  a  prayer  service  the  ships  weighed  anchor  on  the  4th  of 
June,  1 741,  and  Bering  generously  gave  the  lead  to  Chirikof.  They 
sailed  in  company  with  the  St.  Paul  always  in  the  lead  over  six 
hundred  miles  in  a  southeasterly  direction  as  far  south  as  latitude 
46°  09'  where  they  should  long  before  have  seen  Gamaland.  Had 
they  sailed  on  their  easterly  course  from  Avatcha  Bay  thev  would 
have  struck  some  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  and  thence  followed  that 
chain  to  the  Continent. 

The  Vessels  are  Separ.ated  in  a  Storm. 

At  their  lowest  latitude  on  the  12th  of  June  Bering  ordered  a 
course  to  the  N.  NE.,  which  they  continued  to  keep  with  unfavor- 
able winds  to  latitude  49°  30',  with  the  St.  Peter  to  windward, 
when  the  vessels  separated  during  the  night  of  June  2oth-2ist  in 
stormy  weather.  They  were  then  only  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
south  of  Adakh  Island.  Chirikof  held  a  course  to  the  southward 
and  then  to  the  eastward,  while  Bering  searched  for  his  companion 
for  two  days  nearly  in  the  vicinity  of  the  separation.  A  Council 
of  Bering's  officers  then  decided  to  give  up  further  search;  and 
unfortunately  they  also  decided  to  make  another  search  for  Gama- 
land, and  sailed  south  to  latitude  45°  16',  which  was  reached  on  the 
24th.  Thence  the  St.  Peter's  course  was  to  the  E.  NP;.,  according 
to  the  direction  and  force  of  the  wind.  He  was  crossing  the  Pacific 
and  soundings  were  useless. 


Bering  aiid  Chirikof  17 

After  losiuj;  sight  of  the  St.  Peter  Chirikof  drifted  to  the  south 
aud  southeastward  for  two  days  in  hopes  of  meeting  his  commander. 
A  council  of  his  officers  decided  to  give  up  the  search  and  continue 
his  easterly  course. 

Both  vessels  were  now  running  nearly  parallel  with  each  other 
and  with  the  Aleutian  chain;  but  Bering  had  started  two  and  a  half 
degrees  farther  south  than  Chirikof.  On  the  26th  of  June  Chirikof 
was  in  latitude  48°,  and  on  the  30th  Bering  was  but  twenty  miles 
south  of  that  position;  and  thence  to  July  4th  he  made  poor  head- 
way while  Chirikof  made  good  progress.  After  the  4th  of  July  Ber- 
ing held  a  course  well  to  the  NE.  aud  Chirikof  kept  on  his  general 
E.  NE.  course.  Their  courses  cross  in  latitude  50°  aud  about  longi- 
tude 156°,  with  Bering  eight  days  behind;  but  thence  he  made 
better  progress  than  the  St.  Paul.  Chirikof  was  within  840  miles 
of  his  landfall,  and  Bering  about  7S0  miles  from  his.  Bancroft  says 
that  Bering  found  bottom  at  150  to  200  fathoms,  but  the  Pacific  is 
here  over  2,000  fathoms  in  depth. 

The  Different  Courses  of  the  Vessels. 

From  the  crossing  of  the  tracks  their  courses  lay  about  one  hun- 
dred miles  apart  and  nearly  parallel  for  about  five  hundred  miles, 
when  Bering  hauled  his  course  sharply  to  the  N.  NE.,  and  made 
good  progress.  From  the  projected  tracks  it  appears  that  both 
vessels  after  the  nth  of  July  had  favorable  winds,  from  the  north- 
westward. The  weather  was  evidently  clear  because  Chirikof  got 
observations  for  latitude  on  the  12th,  13th,  15th  and  i6th;  and 
Bering  on  the  14th  and  i6th.  As  early  as  the  nth  when  he  was  yet 
two  hundred  and  forty  miles  from  land  Chirikof  had  noticed  signs  of 
land  in  driftwood,  seals,  and  gulls;  a  not  unusual  condition  in  that 
region.  The  land  he  was  approaching  is  about  3,000  feet  in  height, 
bold  and  densely  wooded  from  the  water  to  nearly  2,500  feet  above 
the  sea.  The  land  which  Bering  was  approaching  was  the  great 
glacial  slopes  in  front  of  the  St.  Elias  Range  whose  crest  line  is 
about  thirty  miles  back  from  the  moderately  low  seaboard. 

Chirikof    Makes    the    First    Landfall  ;     His    Progress 
Therefrom. 

During  the  short  night  (7  hours  16  min.)  of  the  14th  and  15th  of 
July,  Chirikof  sighted  the  moderately  high  land  of  the  west  coast  of 
the  Archipelago  Alexander,  in  latitude  55"   21'  by  estimation.     At 


1 8  The   Tracks  a7id  Landfalls  of 

daylight  with  calm,  clear  weather  the  vessel  had  60  fathoms  of 
water  at  an  ebtimated  distance  of  three  or  four  miles  from  the  bold 
wooded  shore  of  Cape  Adduigton,  "a  conspicuous  promoutory," 
behind  which  the  hills  attain  an  elevation  of  1,500  feet,  and  are 
visible  over  forty  miles  from  seaward. 

The  ocean  current  here  runs  to  the  northward,  and  although  the 
weather  was  calm  the  brig  drifted  to  latitude  55°  41'  by  observation 
at  noon.  This  would  place  the  vessel  ten  miles  S.  SW.  from  Coro- 
nation Island  which  rises  goo  feet  above  the  sea,  and  has  been  seen 
at  a  distance  of  thirty-five  miles  by  Douglas.  Chirikof  was  close 
to  the  land  with  good  water  under  his  keel  and  would  see  some  of 
the  deeper  indentations  of  the  Coast;  and  this  probably  induced 
him  to  lower  a  boat  which  failed  to  find  a  landing  place,  or  to  allure 
out  any  canoes,  if  there  had  been  any  native  villages.  He  reports 
no  exhibitions  of  smoke,  and  at  that  season  the  Indians  were  prob- 
ably at  other  and  inside  localities  fishing  for  salmon.  All  these 
shores  are  bold,  high  and  rocky;  covered  from  top  of  cliff  to  summit 
with  timber,  and  exposed  to  the  full  swell  of  the  Pacific.  Although 
deep  bays  make  into  the  high  land,  and  great  straits  run  to  the 
northward,  yet  the  overlapping  of  capes  and  points,  the  mountain- 
ous land  immediately  behind  the  outer  coast,  the  apparently  un- 
broken cliffs  and  the  absence  of  clean,  white  sand  beaches  would 
make  the  careful  Commander  wary  of  getting  in  too  close  with  his 
vessel. 

As  the  St.  Paul  passed  Coronation  Island,  Chirikof  had  a  group 
of  small  rocky  islets  on  his  port  bow;  but  he  very  likely  passed 
inside  of  them  because  the  broad  opening  of  Chatham  Strait  was  on 
his  starboard  bow,  and  offered  the  vessel  plenty  of  sea  room.  This 
group  was  named  the  Hazy  Isles  by  Dixon  in  1787;  and  on  Russian 
charts  they  are  designated  the  Tumannoi  or  Misty  Islands.  The  St. 
Paul  ran  northwestward  parallel  to  the  coast  and  doubtless  short- 
ened sail,  headed  offshore  and  laid-to  during  the  night  of  the  i6th, 
which  ended  with  rain  and  fog.  The  vessel  was  under  the  steep, 
high,  wooded  ridge  north  of  Cape  Ommaney  where  the  elevation  is 
2,400  feet,  and  which  Vancouver  afterwards  saw  at  a  distance  of 
fifty-seven  miles.  That  is  the  Cape  which  La  Perouse  named 
Tschirikoff  in  honor  of  the  discoverer;  but  this  headland  was  hidden 
from  the  St.  Paul. 

On  the  17th  at  noon  Chirikof  estimated  the  vessel  to  be  in  lati- 
tude 57''  by  dead  reckoning.  He  had  no  observation,  and  accord- 
ing to  this  assumption  the  St.  Paul  had  made  ninety  miles  in  twenty- 


Bering  a?id  Chirikof  19 

four  hours;  and  she  should  then  have  been  up  with  the  remarkable, 
highly  colored,  volcanic  cone  of  Mt.  Edgecumhe,  2,855  f^et  above 
the  sea ;  and  to  the  eastward  and  southeastward  of  which  stretched 
the  deep,  broad,  extensive  Sitka  Sound.-''  From  Cape  Ommaney  to 
the  southwest  point  of  Silka  Sound  the  high,  wooded  coast  line  is 
indented  by  numerous  bays,  large  and  small;  but  the  shores  are 
very  rocky,  covered  with  timber  to  the  water's  edge,  and  backed 
by  high  mountainous  ridges  also  wooded.  The  entrance  to  Port 
Banks  or  Whaler  Bay  is  in  latitude  56°  34';  and  there  is  another 
called  Rocky  Bay  just  north  of  it.  Both  are  readily  made  out  by 
a  vessel  well  in  with  the  land.  Thence  northward  to  Sitka  Sound 
the  coast  is  guarded  by  numerous  outlying  rocky  islands  and  islets. 

Sitka  Sound  is  a  great  indentation  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
square  miles  in  this  bold  coast;  the  opening  to  the  southwest  is 
eleven  miles  wide;  and  the  depth  to  the  northeastward  is  about  fif- 
teen miles  to  the  farthest  wooded  islets  that  are  not  distinguishable 
from  the  main  land  of  Bardnof  Island,  upon  which  the  town  of 
Sitka  is  situated.  The  depth  of  water  is  very  great  across  the 
entrance  to  this  Sound,  and  there  is  no  anchorage  unless  very  close 
under  the  rocky  shores  south  and  southwestwardly  of  Mount  Edge- 
cumbe. 

If  the  St.  Paul  was  close  under  the  shores  south  of  the  Sound, 
the  high,  rocky,  wooded  cliffs  of  Cape  Edgecumbe  were  ten  miles 
to  the  westward  and  twelve  to  fifteen  miles  distant. 

A  Terrible  Disaster  Befalls  Chirikof  and  His  People. 

We  have  been  thus  explicit  of  the  appearance  of  this  Sound  be- 
cause on  the  17th  of  July,  at  the  entrance  to  what  he  designated  a 
great  bay  in  latitude  57°  15'  (Bancroft  p.  69)  Lieut.  Chirikof,  being 
in  need  of  fresh  water,  sent  the  mate  Abram  Mikhailovich  Dementief 
ashore  with  the  long  boat,  manned  by  ten  of  his  best  men.  She 
was  provisioned  for  some  days,  furnished  with  guns  and  other 
arms,  including  a  small  brass  cannon.  It  would  thus  appear  that 
by  carrying  provisions  for  some  days,  and  being  well  manned  and 
armed,  an  exploration  of  some  distance  into  a  large  bay  was  contem- 
plated. They  were  given  circumstantial  instructions,  and  how 
they  should  communicate  with  the  ship  by  signals.  The  boat  was 
seen  to  row  behind  a  small  projection  of  land,  and  Chirikof's  report 

*.^orE— "The  Coast  Pilot  of  Alaska  (First  part,)  from  the  Southern  Boundary  to  Cook's 
Inlet,  by  George  Davidson,  Assistant  U.  S.  Coast  Surrey,  186'J.  Washington;  Government 
printing  office,  1869."    8-Vo.  p.  251,  with  illustrations.    Pages  llC  et  seq. 


20  The    Tracks  and  La7idfalls  of 

states  that  a  few  minutes  later  the  preconcerted  signal  was  observed. 
Chirikof  concluded  that  the  boat  had  gotten  to  shore  safely;  but  no 
other  signals  were  received  that  day.  Several  days  passed  without 
the  return  of  the  boat,  but  signals  were  observed  from  time  to  time 
to  mean  that  all  was  well.  At  last  Chirikof  and  his  people  thought 
the  boat  had  received  damage,  and  could  not  return;  therefore  it 
was  determined  to  send  the  small  and  only  remaining  boat  ashore 
■with  the  boatswain  Sidor  Savelief  and  several  men,  among  whom 
were  the  carpenter  and  a  caulker,  with  the  necessary  implements 
and  materials  to  assist  Dementief,  and  to  repair  his  boat.  This  was 
onthe2ist,  and  the  strictest  orders  were  given  that  when  the 
necessary  assistance  had  been  given  to  the  mate,  one  or  both  boats 
should  return  immediately.  The  movement  of  this  boat  was 
anxiously  watched;  she  was  seen  to  land,  but  no  preparation  for  a 
return  could  be  observed.  In  the  meantime  a  great  smoke  was  seen 
rising  from  the  point  around  which  the  long  boat  had  disappeared. 
The  day  and  night  were  passed  in  great  anxiety,  but  great 
was  their  relief  next  morning  when  two  boats .  were  seen  to  leave 
the  shore  and  move  toward  the  St.  Paul.  One  was  larger  than  the 
other  and  no  one  doubted  but  that  Dementief  and  Savelief  were 
returning.  The  Captain  ordered  all  hands  on  deck  to  make  ready 
for  quick  departure.  During  this  active  preparation  little  or  no 
attention  was  paid  to  the  approaching  boats  which,  while  yet  at 
some  distance,  had  discovered  that  there  was  a  large  number  of  men 
on  the  St.  Paul;  so  they  ceased  paddling,  stood  up,  and  shouting 
with  a  loud  voice  Agai!  Agai!*  quickly  retreated  towards  the  shore. 
Gradually  the  full  force  of  the  calamity  fell  upon  Chirikof,  who 
bitterly  condemned  himself  for  permitting  his  sailors  to  appear  on 
deck  in  such  numbers  as  to  frighten  the  savages,  and  thus  prevent 
their  seizure  and  an  exchange  of  prisoners.  He  believed  his  men 
had  all  been  seized  and  murdered,  or  were  held  for  a  worse  fate; 
more  likely  they  were  held  in  slavery.  He  was  on  an  unknown  and 
dangerous  coast,  he  had  no  other  boat,  and  his  numbers  were 
reduced.  To  increase  his  duties  and  anxiety  a  strong  west  wind 
sprang  up  and  forced  him  to  weigh  anchor  and  seek  an  offing.  He 
was  warmly  attached  to  the  men  who   had  been   eight   years    with 

•NOTB— Through  the  kindness  ol  Captain  Gustave  Niebaum  of  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company,  and  Hon.  Edward  de  Groff,  Commissioner  in  the  Department  of  Justice,  and 
Agent  of  the  Company  at  Sitka  for  many  years,  the  latter  is  endeavoring  to  olitnin  Irom 
the  Koloshians  their  traditions  of  this  whole  affair,  of  which  we  have  given  whatever  in- 
formation we  could  condense.  Two  of  the  most  intelligent  Indians  have  taken  much  inter- 
est in  the  matter  and  have  promised  to  interview  all  the  old  and  trustworthy  members  of 
their  tribe  when  they  come  in  from  their  summer  work.    (Sept.  1901.) 


Bering  ajid  Chirikof  2i 

him,  and  was  loath  to  leave  the  scene  of  the  disaster.  He  cruised 
off  and  on  for  three  or  four  days,  and  so  soon  as  the  wind  permitted 
he  again  approached  the  point  which  had  proved  so  fatal  to  his 
undertaking. 

A  council  of  sea  officers  decided  that  further  attempts  at  geo- 
graphical discovery  were  impracticable,  and  that  the  vessel  should 
return  to  Kamchatka.  With  his  own  hand  Chirikof  added  to  the 
minutes  of  the  Council,  "were  it  not  for  our  extraordinary  misfor- 
tunes there  would  be  ample  time  to  prosecute  the  work."  The  St. 
Paul  was  then  headed  to  the  northwest  with  the  high  bold  coast  in 
full  view. 

In  What  Bay  Were  the  Boats  and   Men  of  the  St.   Paul 

lyOST? 

The  position  of  this  large  bay  where  the  terrible  disaster  over- 
took Chirikof  is  a  matter  of  geographical  interest,  and  may  properly 
be  investigated  at  this  part  of  our  examination.  He  had  observed 
for  latitude  on  the  i6th  in  55°  41'  and  for  the  next  ten  days  his 
charted  positions  depended  solely  upon  dead  reckoning.  We  are 
therefore  not  compelled  to  assume  his  given  latitude  of  57°  15'  as 
absolutely  correct.  It  is  doubtful  whether  he  could  determine  his 
dead  reckoning  within  fifteen  miles  a  day,  with  his  dull  sailing 
vessel,  and  the  probability  that  as  a  prudent  commander  he  laid-to 
at  night  and  in  heavy  fogs. 

The  currents  upon  this  part  of  the  Coast  are  not  yet  known  from 
regular  and  systematic  investigations.  In  normal  weather  at  that 
season  of  the  year,  a  vessel  moderately  close  in  shore  would  be  set 
to  the  northward  parallel  with  the  coast.  If  strong  northwest  winds 
prevailed  this  inshore  eddy  current  would  probably  be  largely  over- 
come or  even  reversed.  The  Monthly  Pilot  chart  for  the  North 
Pacific  gives  the  shore  current  towards  the  northward  in  July. 

There  is  no  '"Great  Bay"  in  latitude  57°  15' that  would  require  some 
days  to  examine  unless  it  be  in  the  somewhat  obscure  opening  of 
Salisbury  Sound  which  lies  between  latitudes  57°  18',  and  57°  22'. 
This  is  the  "Bay  of  Islands"  of  Cook  which  opens  at  the  deepest 
bend  of  a  retreating  shore  line  with  high,  timbered  mountain  sides 
beyond;  and  which  does  not  present  the  broad,  deep  prospect  to 
the  eastward  and  northeastward  that  Sitka  Sound  opens  to  view. 


22  The   Tracks  and  Landfalls  of 

La  Perouse  and  Vancouver  passed  it  without  remark,  and  so  have 
many  of  the  early  fur  traders,  English  and  American. 

In  our  judgment  the  disaster  occurred  in  Sitka  Sound.  As 
Chirikof's  vessel  approached  it  from  the  southeastward  the  shores 
of  this  large  Sound  retreated  many  miles  to  the  eastward  and  north- 
eastward, and  was  backed  by  snow  capped  mountains  reaching  over 
three  thousand  feet  elevation  that  brought  out  its  extensive 
features.*  Cape  Edgecumbe  stretched  out  more  than  ten  miles  to 
the  westward  as  if  to  bar  his  progress;  the  notable  volcanic  peak  of 
Edgecumbe  rose  sharply  to  2855  feet;  and  along  the  outer  coast  be- 
yond was  the  yet  unknown.  This  therefore  would  appear  to  have 
been  his  opportunity  for  protection  from  the  northwest  winds  and 
the  everlasting  swell  of  the  Pacific  from  the  same  general  direction. 
Chirikof's  vessel  would  at  once  experience  smoother  water  as  she 
got  under  the  lee  of  Cape  Edgecumbe;  and  when  a  mile  or  two 
southeast  of  the  Cape,  he  could  not  help  noting  the  protection  of 
White  Point,  or  the  Point  of  Shoals,  seven  miles  to  the  eastnorth- 
east  of  Cape  Edgecumbe. 

As  the  vessel  worked  under  the  lee  of  Cape  Edgecumbe,  she 
would  find  anchorage  in  twenty  fathoms  of  water  about  half  a  mile 
east  of  its  southernmost  projection  (now  named  Sitka  Point),  and 
one-third  of  a  mile  from  the  cliffs  to  the  westward.  From  this 
position  the  Island  of  St.  Lazaria  four  miles  to  the  eastward  would 
be  open  from  the  southern  line  of  cliffs,  but  Chirikof  could  see  the 
smoke  from  a  fire  started  at  the  anchorage  inside  that  point  where 
he  might  reasonably  expect  to  find  natives,  whereas  the  physical 
conditions  along  the  high,  rocky  and  exposed  southern  face  of 
Edgecumbe  are  wholly  unfavorable  for  Indian  settlements.  Upon 
the  outer  coast  the  native  resorts  were  sparsely  distributed.  All  that 
the  Indian  needed  was  more  easily  within  his  reach  in  the  hundreds 
of  miles  of  the  great  interior  straits  and  bays  of  the  Archipelago 
Alexander. 

Moreover  in  the  history  of  Sitka  Sound  it  is  well  known  that  the 
natives  of  this  region  have  been  powerful,  overbearing  and  aggres- 
sive. At  one  period  they  nearly  drove  the  Russians  from  these 
waters;  and  they  retained  their  warlike  reputation  to  the  occupancy 
of  the  country  by  the  United  States.  We  can  therefore  understand 
that  they  were  prompt  to  resent  any  imprudence  or  fancied  ill  treat- 

•NoTE— Examine  work  cited  p.  W 


Bering  and  Chirikof  23 

ment  by  a  bod)'  of  strangers.  It  is  not  improbable  that  they  had 
traditions  of  Japanese  wrecks  on  their  coast  and  counted  upon  a 
fresh  batch  of  slaves  and  the  plunder  of  the  brig. 

Of  course  there  is  a  bare  possibility  that  this  disaster  may  have 
occurred  more  nearly  the  latitude  of  57°  15'  than  under  Edgecumbe 
in  56"  59' .  If  so  it  should  have  been  in  the  comparatively  small,  open 
bay  of  Guadalupe  of  Heceta,  1775.  An  examination  of  the  author- 
ities who  have  coasted  in  this  vicinity  will  more  strongly  point  to 
Sitka  Sound  as  the  Great  Bay  of  Chirikof. 

In  Mr.  Thomas  Jefferj-s'  translation  of  Miiller's  account  of  Rus- 
sian discoveries  upon  the  northwest  coast  of  America  (1761),  he 
makes  the  statement  that  "the  coast  made  by  Capt.  Tschirikow, 
was  steep  and  rocky,  without  any  islands,  wherefore  he  did  not 
dare  to  approach  it,  but  anchored  at  some  distance  therefrom;" 
p.  40.  He  then  gives  the  details  of  the  landing  of  the  long  boat; 
and  on  the  accompanying  chart  (1762),  drawn  up  by  Jefferys  there 
is  the  legend,  "Capt.  Tchirikow's  landing  place.  Lat.  observed 
56''  36':"  thus  confounding  two  events;  that  of  the  i6th  with  that 
of  the  17th.  Jefferys  gives  no  indication  of  a  bay  in  the  map  re- 
ferred to,  nor  in  the  one  which  he  says  is  a  republication  of  that 
issued  by  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  St.  Petersburg. 

On  the  17th  of  August,  1775,  Don  Bruno  de  Heceta,  in  the  Span- 
ish discovery  schooner  Sonora,  after  describing  Mt.  San  Jacinto 
(Edgecumbe)  and  Cape  Deception,  continued  his  course  along  the 
coast  to  the  northwestward,  and  anchored  for  one  day  in  50  fathoms 
of  water  in  the  northeastern  part  of  a  bay  which  he  named  Guada- 
lupe; and  he  says  the  shores  are  very  steep  and  wooded,  and  the 
water  excessively  deep.  He  did  not  see  any  canoes  or  Indians,  and 
was  very  glad  to  get  from  so  dangerous  a  position.  He  places  this 
bay  in  latitude  57°  11'.  Surely  Chirikof  would  not  have  anchored 
here,  and  fitted  out  a  boat  for  exploration  under  such  conditions. 

In  1786  and  '87  Captains  Portlock,  Dixon,  Meares  and  others 
were  fur  trading  on  this  northwest  coast;  and  when  under  the 
immediate  shores,  were  constantly  seeking  for  bays  and  inlets  that 
they  might  meet  natives  for  the  purposes  of  barter.  Dixon,  when  ten 
miles  to  the  westnorthwest  of  Cape  Edgecumbe  (September,  1786, 
p.  75)  steered  along  the  coast  to  the  northwestward  in  hopes  of  find- 
ing the  Bay  of  Islands  of  Cook  (1778),  which  the  latter  had  crudely 
indicated  on  his  chart  as  being  twenty  miles  north  of  Cape  Edge- 
cumbe.    Vancouver  has  placed  it  in  57°  22'.     This  is  the  latitude 


24  The  Tracks  and  Landfalls  of 

of  Kloacheva  or  Salisbury  Sound,  and  the  strait  of  Olgi  of  Tebenkof. 
Dixon  says  that  he  "could  not  fall  in  with  such  a  place  to  the  west- 
"ward  of  the  Cape.  That  part  of  the  coast  which  we  examined 
"forms  a  kind  of  shallow  bay,  but  affords  not  the  least  shelter  for 
"any  vessel  to  lay  at  anchor,  neither  could  we  perceive  the  least 
"sign  of  inhabitants. " 

In  June,  1787,  Captain  Dixon  approached  Cape  Edgecumbe  from 
the  northwestward,  and  when  a  mile  off  the  Cape  he  "opened  a 
"very  large  and  extensive  bay  which  had  every  appearance  of  an 
"excellent  harbor."  This  he  named  Norfolk  Sound,  the  Sitka 
Sound  of  to-day.  He  sailed  along  the  south  shore  of  Edgecumbe, 
outside  of  Lazarus  Island,  and  around  the  rocky  shoal  off  the  south- 
east point  of  Kruzof  island,  which  bears  eastnortheast  seven  miles 
from  Cape  Edgecumbe,  and  which  he  named  Whiles  Point.  Then 
he  hauled  in  sharply  to  the  northward  one  mile  and  three-tenths  to 
a  moderately  secure  anchorage  in  eight  fathoms  of  water  over  a 
sandy  bottom,  from  which  location  a  stream  of  water  opened  abreast 
the  vessel.  It  is  open  to  the  eastward.  He  gives  a  sketch  of  the 
shore  from  the  cape  to  this  anchorage.  Here  he  traded  for  ten  days 
with  a  lot  of  the  sharpest  thieves  he  had  met  on  the  coast.  At  one 
time  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  natives  were  counted  on  and 
around  the  ship.  As  we  have  said  before,  a  vessel  lying  at  anchor 
under  Sitka  point  could  readily  see  smoke  from  a  fire  started  near 
this  location. 

Three  months  later,  that  is  in  August,  1787,  the  long  boat  from 
Captain  Portlock's  vessel  then  anchored  in  Portlock  Harbor  in  lati- 
tude 57°  46',  came  southward  through  Salisbury  Sound  and  through 
the  narrow  and  shallow  channel  of  Soukoi  or  Dry  Inlet,  along  the 
east  side  of  Kruzof  island,  into  the  northern  part  of  Sitka  Sound, 
and  anchored  near  the  previous  anchorage  of  Dixon.  The  experi- 
ence of  this  party  with  the  natives  was  similar  to  that  of  Dixon's. 
For  two  days  they  were  anchored  well  off  the  shore  in  twenty-eight 
fathoms  of  water,  and  when  about  to  depart  the  natives  cut  their 
cable  whereby  the  anchor  was  lost.  For  this  act  the  rascals  were 
punished  by  the  destruction  of  two  large  canoes. 

In  1786  La  Perouse  recognized  a  small  bay  north  of  Edgecumbe 
on  the  ocean  coast  and  retained  Heceta's  name  thereto. 

In  1794  Vancouver  was  coasting  close  along  the  shore  north  of 
Cape  Edgecumbe  and  has  noted  upou  his  chart  a  slight  indentation 
of  the  shore  in  latitude  57°  11',  which  he  named  Port  Mary. 


Bering  and  Chirikof  25 

In  the  Russian  atlas  of  Tebcnkof,  1848,  he  places  in  that  position 
a  bay  about  three  miles  wide  and  nearly  half  as  deep,  but  he  ex- 
hibits no  soundings  therein.     He  retains  Vancouver's  name. 

On  the  Admiralty  chart  No.  2337  of  1854,  this  indentation  is 
called  "Shelikova  (Silk)  Bay,  Port  Mary  of  Vancouver."  It  pre- 
sents no  details  and  no  soundings.  In  1867  we  learned  that  there 
was  a  portage  to  this  bay  from  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Island 
(Kruzof)  two  or  three  miles  NW.  of  Port  Krestov,  but  we  have  no 
knowledge  of  any  Indian  settlement  on  the  ocean  bay.  The  direct 
distance  across,  through  the  timber  with  dense  undergrowth  is 
about  four  miles. 

In  the  last  few  years  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  has 
made  a  topographical  and  hydrographical  survey  of  this  bay  and 
places  its  northern  point  in  latitude  57°  10'.  The  entrance  is  3^ 
miles  wide,  north  and  south,  and  lYz  miles  deep.  The  north  and 
northeast  shores  are  bounded  by  many  rocky  islets.  There  is  no 
sign  of  an  Indian  village;  and  from  any  position  in  the  approaches 
all  the  shores  are  in  full  view. 

These  descriptions  of  explorers,  both  as  to  the  appearance  of  the 
Coast,  and  the  character  of  the  natives,  seem  to  fortify  our  judg- 
ment that  Sitka  Sound  was  the  place  where  the  discoverers  lost 
their  lives.     Cape  Edgecumbe  at  the  NW.  point  is  in  latitude  56" 

The  Cruising  of  the  St.  Paul  after  Leaving  Sitka  Sound. 

We  now  return  to  the  cruising  of  Lieut.  Chirikof. 

On  the  26th  of  July  he  observed  for  latitude  in  58°  21'  not  over 
twenty-five  miles  from  the  coast  under  Mt.  Crillon  (12,713  feet), 
Mt.  Lituya  (11,832  feet)  and  Mt.  Fairweather  (15,294  ft.).  He  was 
then  within  the  arc  of  visibility  of  Mt.  St.  Elias,  18,024  f'^^'-  From 
that  date  to  August  ist  his  positions  are  well  governed  by  the  lati- 
tudes observed  on  those  dates  and  also  on  the  28th,  by  his  plotted 
courses,  and  by  his  distance  from  the  land.  On  the  28th  in  latitude 
58°  48'  he  was  only  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  SW.  by  S.  from  Mt. 
St.  Elias,  and  seventy-five  miles  from  the  nearest  shore;  and  he  had 
just  crossed  the  track  of  Bering  between  the  i6th  and  17th  of  July. 
The  weather  was  cloudy  and  the  great  St.  Elias  range  must  have 
been  hidden. 

On  the  29th,  in  cloudy  weather,  he  was  thirty-five  miles  south 
of  Kayak  Island,  and  reached  his  highest  latitude  in  59'  16',  accord- 


26  The   Tracks  mid  Landfalls  of 

ing  to  our  adjustment.  He  was  still  well  within  the  arc  of  visibil- 
ity of  Mt.  St.  Elias.  He  made  a  good  run  to  the  westsouthwest- 
ward  between  the  29th  and  30th,  passing  about  twenty  miles  south- 
ward of  Middletoa  or  Otchek  island  which  Bering  had  passed  on 
the  2  ist  about  thirty  miles  to  the  northward.  The  island  is  esti- 
mated to  be  two  hundred  feet  high,  very  flat  topped,  and  in  good 
weather  would  be  on  the  horizon  from  a  ship's  deck  at  twenty  miles. 
On  the  30th  the  St.  Paul  probably  hauled  up  to  the  northwest  under 
the  southeast  shore  of  the  Kenai  Peninsula.  On  the  ist  of  August 
he  was  by  observation  in  latitude  58°  45',  and  less  than  twenty 
miles  southeastward  from  the  extremity  of  the  high,  rocky  coast  of 
the  Kenai  Peninsula,  which  he  had  in  full  view.  In  this  govern- 
ing position,  with  a  clear  sky  and  horizon,  he  could  have  seen  the 
Barren  Islands  (2,000  feet,)  nearly  west,  the  Four  Peaks  of  Cape 
Douglas  (9,000  feet)  due  west,  and  probably  the  highest  part  of 
Afognak  Island  thirty-five  miles  to  the  southwest.  He  was  off  the 
Isla  de  Regla  of  Arteaga  and  Bodega  (Aug.  2,  1779);  the  Cape 
Elizabeth  of  Cook  and  the  later  geographers. 

The  great  recession  of  the  coast  to  the  northwest,  at  the  entrance 
to  Cook's  Inlet,  and  the  northern  entrance  to  the  Shelikof  Strait  to 
the  southwestward,  would  have  appeared  to  him  as  great  gulfs 
which  he  would  prudently  avoid.  In  our  adjustment  we  place  the 
St.  Paul  in  latitude  58°  49'  and  longitude  149°  12'.  Soon  after  he 
left  it  he  could  have  seen  the  Volcano  Iliamna,  12,066  feet  high, 
and  one  hundred  miles  distant  to  the  northnorthwest. 

The  Approach  and  L,andfai,l  of  Bering— Mt.  St.   Euas— 
The  Progress  of  Bering. 

In  the  last  named  position  we  leave  Chirikof  for  a  time,  and  fol- 
low the  course  of  Bering  approaching  the  coast  from  his  observed 
position  on  the  4th  of  July,  when  he  was  in  latitude  48°  05'  by  ob- 
servation, and  in  longitude  160°  W.  by  our  adjustment. 

About  this  time  Bering  was  quite  fortunate  in  his  latitude  obser- 
vations: he  observed  in  48°  05'  on  the  4th  of  July,  in  56°  12'  on  the 
14th,  in  58°  28'  on  the  i6th,  and  anchored  at  Kayak  Island  in  lati- 
tude 60"  00'  on  the  20th.  These,  considered  in  relation  to  his 
northerly  course,  are  valuable  data. 

As  we  have  already  stated,  his  track  of  July  8th  crossed  Chirikof's 


Bering  and  Chirikof  27 

track  of  June  3oth-July  ist  in  latitude  50°  00'  and  longitude  156° 
00'  W.;  lie  was  soon  running  parallel  with  Chirikofs  course  and 
continued  so  until  the  13th.  Thence  his  course  was  to  the  N.  NE. 
with  the  ocean  current  carrying  him  to  the  westward.  At  mid- 
night of  the  15th  the  St.  Peter  crossed  within  the  arc  of  visibility 
of  Mt.  St.  Elias,  and  at  noon  on  the  i6th  his  observation  for  lati- 
tude placed  the  brig  in  58"  28'.  But  before  noon,  when  in  latitude 
58°  14',  the  lookout  reported  an  extremely  high  mountain  project- 
ing above  a  high  range  of  snow  covered  mountains.  The  vessel 
was  then  thirty  miles  inside  the  arc  of  visibility  of  Mt.  St.  Elias; 
and  more  than  4,000  feet  of  the  mountain  was  visible  above  his  hor- 
izon. In  other  words  the  visible  part  showed  higher  than  our 
Loma  Prieta  (3,793  feet)  on  the  Peninsula  of  San  Francisco  shows 
from  the  sea  when  a  vessel  is  off  Pt.  Ano  Nuevo;  or  as  high  as  Mt. 
Diablo  (3,849  feet)  when  seen  from  Suisun  Bay.  At  noon  over  six 
thousand  feet  of  the  mountain  was  visible;  and  the  vessel's  course 
was  continued  to  the  northward  for  a  day.  Bering  had  light  head 
winds  and  his  progress  was  slow,  so  that  he  made  little  more  than 
one  hundred  miles  in  three  days.  From  noon  of  the  17th  he  steered 
to  the  northwestward  for  one  day,  and  he  was  within  less  than 
ninety  miles  from  Mt.  St.  Elias,  with  the  vessel  gradually  approach- 
ing the  shore  which  was  then  distant  about  thirty  miles. 

His  track  of  the  17th  was  crossed  by  Chirikof  eleven  days  later. 
He  does  not  mention  Mt.  St.  Elias  by  name,  nor  is  it  placed  on  his 
chart,  but  on  Jefferys'  republication  of  the  Russian  map  of  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  it  is  placed  in  latitude  60°  12';  its  actual  lati- 
tude is  eo**  17'  34". 4.  On  the  i8th  the  course  of  the  St.  Peter  was 
nearly  west,  but  she  made  slow  progress,  although  she  must  have 
been  under  the  influence  of  the  current  setting  to  the  westward.  At 
noon  of  the  19th  he  was  close  to  the  high,  south  point  of  Kayak 
island  with  its  remarkable  outstanding  steeple  rock  (Russian, 
Kekur)  higher  than  the  main  point.  This  conspicuous  rock  has 
been  noted  or  depicted  by  the  Spaniards,  and  by  Douglas,  Cook, 
Vancouver  and  others.  It  is  in  latitude  59°  49',  and  longitude  144° 
53'.  Bering  notes  no  observations  for  latitude  in  this  vicinity,  but 
he  puts  it  in  latitude  59°  40',  while  Waxell's  map  places  it  in  59° 
12'.  It  lies  well  within  the  arc  of  visibility  of  Mt.  St.  Elias;  and 
Waxell's  map  shows  "terribly  high  mountains  covered  with  snow," 
with  a  cloud  line  between  the  summits  and  base.  The  highest 
peak  is  placed  in  61^  05'  and  perhaps  these  represent  the  western- 


28  The  Tracks  and  Landfalls  of 

most  part  of  the  St.  Elias  range,  or  possibly  Mt.  St.  Elias  itself.  On 
the  sub-chart  of  Chitrof  they  are  laid  down  to  the  NE-  by  N. 
from  the  Kayak  anchorage.     (See  appendix  for  the  name  Kayak.) 


The  St.  Peter  Anchors  Under  Kayak  Island. 


On  the  2oth  the  St.  Peter  had  beaten  to  the  northward  with  light 
airs  and  was  anchored  off  the  northwest  shoulder  of  the  island  which 
is  about  twelve  miles  north  of  the  southern  point.  In  the  sketch 
from  Chitrof 's  journal  it  is  laid  down  nearly  its  true  length;  the 
south  point  is  named  "  Kap.  Set.  Elias";  and  the  island,  "Set  Elias 
O."  Moderate  soundings  are  laid  down  from  the  anchorage  around 
the  east  and  north  side  of  Steele  or  Wingham  Island,  (the  Chiganik 
of  the  natives),  which  lies  two  or  three  miles  to  the  northwest  of 
Kayak  Island;  and  deeper  soundings  to  the  southward  of  that 
island  and  farther  westward.  The  St.  Peter  was  anchored  in  22 
fathoms  of  water  over  a  soft,  clay  bottom.  (See  appendix  for 
remarks  upon  this  island.)  Bering  remained  at  this  anchorage  one 
day;  one  boat  under  Chitrof,  master  of  the  fleet,  made  a  limited 
exploration  for  a  better  anchorage  if  needed;  and  the  other  boat 
went  ashore  for  water,  taking  with  them  naturalist  Steller  to  give 
him  a  chance  to  botanize  while  the  sailors  filled  the  water  casks: 
Chirikof  on  the  St.  Paul  had  run  short  of  water  before  the  same 
date.  On  the  island  which  Chitrof  visited  he  found  numerous  signs 
of  inhabitants;  unoccupied  huts  constructed  of  smooth  boards 
partly  carved  (totems?),  household  utensils  used  by  the  natives, 
smoked  salmon,  a  whetstone  used  to  sharpen  copper  tools,  a  rattle, 
a  small  poplar  box,  etc.  On  the  island  which  Steller  visited  he 
came  upon  two  fire  places  where  the  natives  had  been  cooking  and 
who  had  apparently  just  retreated,  because  their  tracks  were  noted. 
He  found  broken  arrows,  the  wooden  implements  to  produce  fire, 
seaweed,  cordage,  etc.  His  stay  collecting  plants  was  six  hours. 
For  the  few  articles  taken  by  Chitrof  and  Steller,  beads,  knives, 
iron  pots,  linen,  etc.,  were  sent  from  the  vessel  and  left  in  the  huts 
as  a  sign  of  reparation  and  good  will.  This  visit  to  the  island  was 
verified  by  the  traditions  of  the  natives  before  the  beginning  of  the 
last  century. 


Bcriiiii  and  Chirikof  29 

Bering  Leaves  His  Anchorage.    Unjust  Criticisms. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  21st,  contrary  to  his  custom,  Bering 
came  on  deck  and  ordered  the  anchor  weighed  for  the  prosecution 
of  the  voyage.  This  departure  has  given  rise  to  violent  and  un- 
seemly adverse  expressions  against  the  commander,  although  the 
original  condemnation  comes  almost  wholly  from  the  naturalist 
Steller,  who  was  not  one  of  the  ship's  officers,  and  not  admitted  to 
the  councils  except  on  special  occasions;  and  in  no  wise  was  he 
responsible  for  the  safety  of  the  ship.  Quite  naturally  he  was 
anxious  to  make  collections  of  natural  history,  and  it  would  appear 
from  his  journal  edited  by  Pallas,  that  more  than  one  summons  for 
him  to  return  to  the  ship  on  the  20th  was  made  by  the  commander. 
All  the  water  casks  had  not  been  filled  but  the  wind  was  coming  up 
from  seaward,  and  the  vessel  would  have  to  seek  a  better  anchor- 
age. Moreover  there  was  nothing  to  be  gained  to  geography  by  a 
prolonged  stay  at  such  a  forbidding  island  under  unfavorable  con- 
ditions. Bering  was  wholly  and  solely  responsible  for  the  safety  of 
the  ship  and  her  people:  there  was  no  consort  to  fall  back  upon  in 
case  of  disaster.  Steller  clearly  disobeyed  orders;  he  strained  the 
personal  friendship  of  Bering  nearly  to  the  breaking  point.  In  the 
present  case  a  few  more  plants,  seaweed  or  cordage  should  not  have 
weighed  one  iota  against  the  judgment  of  the  commander;  and  such 
remarks  as  "pusillanimous  homesickness"  and  the  "fear  of  a  hand- 
ful of  natives"  that  were  never  seen,  were  simply  mutinous. 

"According  to  his  instructions,  Bering  was  authorized  to  spend 
two  years  and  make  two  voyages  in  the  discovery  of  America;  and 
to  undertake  another  expedition  afterwards  with  new  preparations 
and  equipments.  And  in  his  explanations  to  the  crew  he  called 
especial  attention  to  this  point.  Under  these  circumstances  it  would 
not  have  been  right  in  him  to  assume  any  more  risks  than  abso- 
lutely necessary."* 

They  were  within  reach  of  land  ;  a  wild  and  forbidding  coast 
overshadowed  them;  and  other  and  more  favorable  landings  might 
be  made  when  necessary.  In  his  consideration  of  all  the  conditions 
that  presented  themselves  he  must  surely  have  recalled  the  interfer- 
ence of  La  Croyere  that  in  the  early  part  of  the  voyage  had  de- 
layed the  ships  and  brought  danger  to  the  expedition  by  his  demand 
that  they  search  for  the  mythical  Gamaland  of  his  brother's  map, 

•Note.— Lauridsen:  p.  154. 


JO  The   Tracks  and  Landfalls  of 

whose  vague  locations  Spanberg  and  Walton's  tracks  had   three 
times  passed  over  in  1738  and  1739. 

Furthermore,  the  provisions  of  the  vessel  were  nearly  half  con- 
sumed; the  general  movement  of  the  wind  was  from  the  westward; 
and  Bering  himself  and  nearly  one-third  of  the  crew  were  on  the  sick 
list  with  scurvy.  Dense  clouds  obscured  the  sky  as  the  St.  Peter 
commenced  her  return  voyage,  and  rain  fell  incessantly.  Bancroft 
well  says  that  "dismal  forces  were  closing  in  round  the  Dane." 
Even  Steller  admits  that  "the  good  Commander  was  far  superior 
"  to  all  the  other  officers  in  divining  the  future." 

We  believe  that  Bering  exercised  the  judgment  of  a  capable,  self- 
reliant,  far-seeing  and  clearheaded  commander,  placed  in  a  position 
surrounded  by  adverse  and  conflicting  conditions.  Bering,  as  well 
as  every  other  explorer  and  commander,  has  the  right  to  be  judged 
from  the  standpoint  of  his  orders,  the  character  of  the  Government, 
the  work  which  he  has  already  accomplished  and  what  he  hopes  to 
surpass,  the  means  and  methods  at  his  disposition,  his  distance  from 
support,  the  character  of  his  officers  and  men,  his  source  of  supplies, 
and  especially  the  depressing  effects  of  disease. 

He  ro.se  equal  to  the  emergencies  of  the  occasion,  and  set  aside 
the  instructions  which  required  him  to  act  in  accordance  with  the 
Council  of  officers;  and  assumed  all  the  responsibilities.  The  Coun- 
cil made  no  protest  to  his  plans.  To  judge  clearly  and  coldly  of 
his  decision  we  must  try  to  put  ourselves  in  his  place,  and  remember 
the  character  of  the  vessel,  of  his  instruments,  of  his  outfit,  of  his 
resources,  of  the  weather,  of  the  direction  of  the  winds,  of  the  track- 
less ocean,  and  of  the  terrible  and  inevitable  consequences  of  ship- 
wreck in  that  region.  There  was  no  soul  to  assist  them  in  the 
hour  of  danger.  He  can  not  be  criticized  by  the  geographical  and 
climatic  knowledge  available  to  us  to-day. 

Miiller  in  referring  to  all  the  discouraging  conditions  that  beset 
the  officers  and  men  of  the  St.  Peter,  recalls  the  expression  of  one 
of  the  former  as  follows:  "I  do  not  know  whether  there  can  be  a 
"more  discontented  and  worse  manner  of  living  in  the  world,  than 
"to  navigate  an  undescribed  sea.  I  speak  from  experience,  and 
"can  say  with  truth,  that  during  the  five  months  I  was  in  this  voy- 
"age,  without  seeing  any  land  known  before,  I  did  not  sleep 
"  quietly  many  hours;  because  I  was  in  continual  danger  and  un- 
"  certainty." 


Bering  and  Chirikoj  31 

The  St.  Peter  Pursues  Her  Voyage  Toward  the  Southwest. 

On  the  2istof  July  the  St.  Peter  had  made  but  twenty-five  miles 
to  the  westnorthwest  from  her  anchorage,  and  must  have  been 
within  ten  or  fifteen  miles  of  the  low  shore  of  the  delta  of  the  Atna 
or  Copper  River,  in  moderately  shoal  water,  with  high  broken  land 
ahead  and  to  the  westward,  if  the  weather  permitted  him  to  get 
glimpses  of  it. 

The  proposed  route  of  the  expedition  had  been  to  follow  the 
American  coast,  when  discovered,  to  the  latitude  of  65°  or  66",  (his 
latitude  of  the  western  cape  of  Bering  strait,)  but  the  great  barrier 
mountains  of  this  Alaska  region  precluded  farther  progress  north- 
ward. Consequently  the  vessel  pointed  to  the  south  of  west.  At 
noon  of  the  21st  he  steered  to  the  westsouth  west  ward,  and  on  the 
22d  the  St.  Peter  was  perhaps  ten  or  fifteen  miles  south  of  Cape 
Cleare,  the  southern  point  of  Montague  Island  which  is  in  latitude 
59°  46'.  The  island  is  traversed  by  lofty  mountains.  In  his  posi- 
tion, and  probably  from  the  time  he  left  the  Copper  River  delta 
astern,  the  soundings  would  range  from  40  to  50  or  60  fathoms. 
Fortunately  he  was  to  the  northward  of  the  Sea  Otter  and  two  other 
dangerous  reefs. 

During  the  22nd  and  23rd,  the  course  was  to  the  S.  SW.  and  the 
chart  indicates  that  he  was  in  sight  of  land;  but  Miiller  says  the 
weather  was  thick  and  the  coast  invisible.  At  noon  on  the  23rd  in 
latitude  58"  40'  by  our  adjustment,  the  St.  Peter  was  in  the  position 
crossed  by  the  St.  Paul  seven  days  later.  He  continued  his  course 
to  the  S.  SW.  and  on  the  24th  the  vessel  was  in  latitude  57°  45'  and 
longitude  149°  30'.  Here  he  would  be  in  150  fathoms  of  water, 
and  off  soundings.  The  course  was  then  changed  to  the  westsouth- 
westward,  and  it  passed  over  the  northern  part  of  the  Albatross  bank 
with  soundings  from  60  to  40  fathoms.  On  the  25th  it  was  decided 
in  Council  that  the  St.  Peter  should  run  under  easy  sail  for  Petro- 
pavlovsk  (Lat.  52°  53');  and  whenever  wind  and  weather  per- 
mitted to  head  for  the  north  and  west,  in  order  to  explore  the  coast 
they  had  left.  Their  general  course  would  have  been  to  the  west- 
southwest,  had  no  land  intervened.  They  were  then  on  soundings 
but  the  wind  was  easterly,  and  thick  fogs  prevailed  and  dangers 
lay  close  under  their  lee.  At  noon  on  the  25th  our  adjustment 
places  the  brig  in  latitude  57°  30',  about  fifteen  miles  off  the  high, 
rocky,  broken  shore  of  Kadiak  Island  at  Cape  Greville  of  Cook. 
The  St.  Peter  had  40  fathoms  of  water  or  less,  and  her  course  was 


32  TItc   Tracks  and  Landfalls  of 

changed  to  southwest,  which  is  nearly  parallel  with  the  general 
trend  of  the  shore.  According  to  Waxell's  chart  the  soundings 
ranged  from  35  to  60  fathoms,  and  Miiller  says  the  vessel  found 
herself  frequently  close  under  the  shore.  The  current  was  perhaps 
carrying  the  vessel  on  her  course,  and  with  an  inset  effect  in  part 
due  to  the  easterly  swell. 

Cape  Hermogenes,  Kadiak  Island. 

At  noon  on  the  26th  Bering  estimated  the  vessel  to  be  in  latitude 
56°  30',  when  he  saw  a  high,  projecting  point  of  land  to  the  north- 
ward, distant  about  sixteen  miles.  The  chart  places  the  noon  posi- 
tion in  56°  55',  in  the  midst  of  a  space  indicative  of  soundings;  and 
land  far  distant.  This  cape  Bering  named  St.  Hermogenes  in  honor 
of  the  patron  saint  of  that  day;  but  we  have  appealed  to  Greek 
Church  authority  in  San  Francisco,  and  learn  that  the  26th  of  July, 
old  style,  is  dedicated  to  St.Ermolai  (Hermolaus)  six  days  after  St. 
Elias  day.  The  day  of  St.  Ermogeue  is  August  13th,  on  which 
date  Bering  was  off  Unalaska  and  out  of  sight  of  land.  This  land- 
fall is  the  south  or  southeast  shore  of  the  large  island  of  Sakhlidak,* 
closely  set  into  a  deep  recession  of  the  high,  broken,  southeastern 
coast  of  Kadiak  Island,  which  they  were  skirting.  Tebeukof  says 
the  former  island  is  mountainous  and  barren.  Its  southern  head  is 
in  sy**  00'.  The  main  island  Kadiak  rises  to  nearly  3,000  feet  ele- 
vation at  20  miles  from  the  coast. 

The  identification  of  this  cape  has  not  hitherto  been  established. 
The  skeleton  chart  drawn  up  from  sketches  and  descriptions  of 
Bering,  Chirikof  and  Chitrof  (Lauridsen's  Vitus  Bering,  Chicago, 
1889,)  does  not  record  the  name  St.  Hermogenes,  but  has  a  project- 
ing point  in  latitude  57°  36'  dated  25th  when  the  vessel  was  on 
soundings  there  indicated.  Waxell's  chart  does  not  give  the  name, 
nor  does  Steller  refer  to  it.  In  latitude  57°  25'  Waxell  has  a  pro- 
jecting head  without  name;  but  the  soundings  lead  southward 
therefrom.  On  Jefferys'  republication  of  the  chart  of  Russian  Dis- 
coveries published  by  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  St.  Petersburg. 
St.  Hermogenes  is  placed  in  latitude  58°  48',  with  the  adjacent  coast 
undefined.     In  June    1778,   Captain   James    Cook  named    Marmot 

♦NOTE— This  name  has  been  apeUed  differently  by  different  Hulhorilics:  Lisiansky 
1806.  Saltkhidak;  Russ.  Hydr.  chart  No.  9, 1847,  Sakhlidok;  Archimandrltoff  1848,  Sakhlidak; 
Ruts.  Araer.  Co.  1819,  Sakhlidak  (Tchalitak  )  Archimandritoff  made  the  survey  of  the 
Island  in  a  hidarka  with  two  natives,  and  his  spelling  is  to  be  preferred.  It  is  the  Isla  de 
Soto  of  the  Spanish  explorers. 


Bering  a7id  Chirikof  33 

Island  St.  Hermogenes  Island,  and  placed  it  in  latitude  58°  18'  on 
his  chart.  On  the  2nd  of  August  1779,  the  Spanish  fragata 
Princesa,  Lieut.  Don  Ygnacio  Arteaga,  and  the  fragata  Favorita 
Lieut.  Don  Juan  Francisco  de  la  Bodega  y  Quadra,  anchored  off 
the  entrance  to  Chatham  Bay  behind  the  island  Regla;  and  state 
that  "  this  point  and  Point  Regla  is  the  same  which  was  called  San 
"  Ermogen  by  Captain  Bering,  and  which  they  found  to  be  in 
"latitude  59°  08',  and  longitude  43°  46'  "  west  from  San  Bias.  This 
Pt.  Regla  is  the  Cape  Elizabeth  of  Cook.  In  the  chart  of  the  Spanish 
explorations  of  the  Sutil  y  Mexicana  in  1792,  Marmot  island  is 
named  Isla  San  Hermogenes. 

In  April  1794,  Vancouver  passed  fifteen  miles  to  the  eastward  of 
Marmot  island  which  he  called  I.  St.  Hermogenes,  and  placed  it  in 
58°  14'  by  dead  reckoning,  or  on  the  authority  of  Cook.  The  name 
is  not  on  Lisiansky's  chart  of  1805;  nor  on  any  of  the  Russian  charts, 
including  Tebenkof  s  about  i848-'52;  but  it  is  found  on  the  British 
chart  No.  2173,  1853,  applied  to  Marmot  Island.  This  location 
was  provisionally  adopted  by  the  United  States  Coast  Survey  in 
1867,  but  applying  the  name  to  the  south  point  in  latitude  58°  10'. 

On  the  24th  of  July,  when  the  St.  Peter  was  in  latitude  58°  14' 
she  was  between  eighty  and  ninety  miles  east  of  Marmot  Island, 
which  was  the  nearest  land.  On  the  25th  at  noon  she  had  made 
seventy  miles  toward  the  westsouthwest,  and  possibly  got  a  glimpse 
of  the  land,  or  was  warned  by  soundings  of  less  than  forty  fathoms 
to  haul  out  sharply  to  the  southwest  by  south. 

Lauridsen  says  (p.  156,  Olsen's  translation,)  that  when  "in  lati- 
"  tude  56°  30',  and  about  sixteen  miles  toward  the  north,  they  saw 
"  a  high  and  projecting  point  which  Bering  called  St.  Hermogenes, 
"  in  honor  of  the  patron  saint  of  the  day."  Bering  had  not  seen 
the  entrance  of  the  Gulf  of  Kenai  (Cook's  Inlet,)  nor  the  thirty 
miles  wide  northern  entrance  of  the  Shelikof  Strait  between  Kadiak 
Island  and  the  main  laud  on  account  of  fogs;  nor  had  he  seen  the 
eastern  coast  of  Kadiak  Island  although  he  was  on  soundings;  and 
therefore  he  thought  this  headland  of  St.  Hermogenes  was  a  contin- 
uation of  the  continental  shore  of  which  he  had  glimpses.  "  It  is 
"represented  as  such  on  Miiller's  and  Krasilnikoff's  manuscript  maps 
"in  the  Archives  of  the  Admiralty." 

From  this  examination  of  authorities  we  believe  that  the  south 
point  of  Sakhlidak  Island  in  latitude  57°  00'  is  the  Cape  St.  Hermo- 
genes of  Bering;  and  that  the  name  was  erroneously  applied  for 
that  of  St.  Ermolai. 


34  The   Tracks  and  Laiidfalls  of 

The  St.   Peter   Passes  Through   Douglas    Channel    into 
Shelikop  Strait. 

From  the  26th  of  July  to  the  4th  of  August,  the  positions  of  the 
St.  Peter  in  this  examination  are  controlled  (i)  by  her  relation  to 
Cape  Hermogenes,  (2)  the  observed  latitude  of  July  31st,  (3)  the 
anchorage  off  the  northwest  end  of  Tomano  island,  (Ukamok,)  (4) 
the  position  near  the  Simidi  group,  (5)  the  soundings  on  Waxell's 
chart,  (6)  the  courses  on  the  Bering,  Chirikof,  Chitrof  chart  in 
Lauridsen,  (7)  and  some  slight  personal  knowledge  of  the  currents 
and  the  depths  of  water. 

The  latitude  of  the  21st  is  reported  54°  49';  on  the  chart  it  is 
placed  in  55°  02'. 

The  drawbacks  to  navigation  in  this  immediate  locality  were  very 
great  from  natural  causes.  The  southern  extremity  of  Kadiak 
Island  was  only  thirty  miles  distant  from  their  position  at  noon  on 
the  26th,  the  low-lying  Trinity  Islands  oif  the  southern  point  are 
separated  from  the  smaller  islands  immediately  under  the  point,  by 
a  comparatively  shallow  channel  three  miles  wide  and  three  miles 
long,  lying  roughly  east  and  west.  The  tidal  currents  entering 
and  leaving  the  southern  part  of  the  Shelikof  strait  abreast  these 
islands,  are  strong  and  conflicting;  and  beyond  all  these  unknown 
dangers,  was  the  dense  fog  hiding  everything.  The  navigators 
could  trust  only  to  their  soundings.  Both  the  charts  referred  to 
have  no  indication  of  the  two  relatively  large  Trinity  Islands,  and 
therefore  they  were  not  seen.  The  tidal  currents  through  the 
Douglas  channel  were  reported  to  us  in  1867  by  the  Russian  navi- 
gators as  running  five  knots. 

At  night  the  vessel  found  herself  in  shoal  water,  tossed  by  heavy 
current  rips,  with  rain  and  strong  winds  and  a  dense  fog  or  mist  so 
that  she  dared  not  anchor.  Waxell's  chart  gives  soundings  so  small 
as  ten  fathoms  sixty  miles  northeastward  of  Tomano  Island,  and 
therefore  on  the  north  side  of  the  Trinity  Islands. 

Taking  all  the  above  conditions  into  consideration,  we  are  con- 
strained to  believe  that  the  St.  Pclcr  passed  through  the  Douglas 
chamiel  between  the  north  side  of  the  Trinity  Islands  and  the  south  of 
Kadiak  Island  and  the  small  islands  immediately  adjacent  thereto; 
and  on  the  27th  at  noon  found  herself  about  fifteen  miles  westward 
of  Tugidak  Island  in  about  twenty  to  thirty  fathoms  of  water. 
From  this  position  she  changed  her  course  sharply  to  the  west- 
southwestward  until  she  got  into  at  least  one  hundred    fathoms. 


Bering  and  Cliirikof  35 

She  must  have  passed  dangerously  near  to  the  southwest  point  of 
Tugidak  Island  in  the  night.  According  to  Miiller  she  got  into 
twenty  fathoms  of  water  and  less;  and  hauled  to  the  southward. 

On  the  28th,  29th,  30th  and  31st,  the  St.  Peter  was  off  soundings, 
and  on  the  last  date  Bering  observed  and  found  himself  in  latitude 
54°  49',  which  we  have  assumed  as  correct  in  our  adjustment. 
From  this  last  position,  with  the  prospect  of  better  weather,  and  in 
accordance  with  the  plan  of  procedure,  the  St.  Peter  hauled  to  the 
northwestward.  The  north  point  of  Tomano  Island  was  eighty 
miles  distant,  and  of  course  below  his  horizon. 

Muller  and  Bancroft  say  Bering  discovered  Tomano  or  Foggy 
Island  on  the  30th  of  July,  but  the  track  chart  in  Lauridsen  clearly 
indicates  that  the  date  is  erroneous.  On  the  night  of  August  ist 
in  a  thick  fog  and  calm  weather,  they  found  themselves  in  only  six 
fathoms  of  water,  with  a  strong  current.  They  managed  to  get 
into  18  fathoms  and  anchored  until  daybreak.  In  the  morning  of 
August  2nd  they  were  four  miles  to  the  westnorthwest  of  the  north- 
east point  of  Tomano  Island,  which  they  placad  in  55"  32'  by  dead- 
reckoning  from  the  observed  latitude  of  July  31st.  Here  the  cur- 
rents are  strong  and  conflicting.  Waxell's  chart  places  it  in  55° 
20',  Cook  placed  it  in  56°  10'  by  dead-reckoning.  Cook  has  an 
island  on  his  chart  about  twenty  miles  S.  SW.  from  Trinity  Island, 
which  is  not  named  nor  mentioned  in  his  narrative.  He  very  prob- 
ably got  a  sight  of  the  south  end  of  Tugidak  Island.  The  north 
point  of  Tomano  Island  is  in  latitude  55°  54'  by  our  charts,  and  the 
island  is  nine  miles  long,  according  to  Tebenkof.  Bering's  error  is 
easily  accounted  for  by  the  strong  irregular  currents  and  thick 
weather.  Bering  named  the  island  St.  Stephen  from  the  church 
calendar  August  2nd,*  but  by  the  officers  it  was  located  on  the 
charts  as  Tammanoi  or  Foggy  Island.  The  Aleut  name  is  Ukamok. 
Cook  called  it  Foggy  Island  and  supposed  it  was  Bering's,  but  Van- 
couver called  it  Tscherikow's  I.,  and  placed  it  in  55°  56'.  He  has 
the  mythical  island  of  Cook  half  way  between  it  and  the  Trinity 
Island. 

From  this  island  Bering  steered  to  the  northward  and  westward, 
mostly  over  soundings,  to  about  latitude  56°  30'  at  noon  of  the  3rd 
of  August.  Here  he  had  a  view  of  the  two  snow-covered  peaks 
named,  on  the  Russian  charts,  Chiginagak  (Aleut)  in  latitude  57° 

"NOTE—The  date  on  which  the  Church  commemorates  the  removal  of  his  relics  from 
Jerusalem  to  Constantinople  in  428  A.  D. 


36  The    Tracks  and  Landjalh  of 

lo',  distant  forty  miles  on   the  southeast  coast  of  the  Peninsula  of 
Alaska. 

On  Waxell's  charts  the  higher  and  northern  peak  is  placed  in 
57°  13'  without  name;  there  is  no  name  on  the  chart  in  Lauridsen; 
they  are  named  St.  Dolmat  on  the  Royal  Academy  of  Science  map 
in  Jefferys'  Miiller,  and  placed  in  latitude  59°  20',  or  about  37' 
north  of  his  Cape  St.  Hermogenes.  The  Greek  Church  calendar 
day  for  St.  Dalmat  is  August  3rd,  old  style.  Bering  was  here  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  northwestward  of  Chirikofs  position 
of  the  9th. 

Bering  Approaches  the  Simidi  Group. 

With  the  high  continental  mountains  dead  ahead  of  Bering's 
course  on  the  third;  and  with  stormy  and  foggy  weather  and  the 
easterly  wind  the  St.  Peter's  course  was  necessarily  changed  to  the 
southsouthwestward,  and  in  thirty-five  miles  she  was  abreast  of  the 
eastern  side  of  the  southern  part  of  the  Simidi  group,  where  Cowiet 
Island  reaches  1200  feet  elevation.  He  also  had  a  view  of  the 
northernmost  island  Agayak  or  Aghiyuk,  1500  feet  high.  The 
former  is  in  latitude  55°  58',  and  the  latter  in  56°  17'. 

On  the  Bering  chart  the  name  Endoiefski  is  applied  to  the  largest 
island  of  the  Simidi  group  which  he  saw  to  the  westward  on  the 
4th  of  August.  I^auridsen  says  the  group  was  named  the  Jefdok- 
jejeski  Island  which  has  been  changed  to  Simidi;  Waxell  has  no 
name  upon  his  chart;  Tebenkof  calls  them  the  Simidi,  and  names 
the  largest  one  Agaiak.  Bancroft  says  "little  progress  was  made 
"  among  the  islands  in  August,  owing  to  the  thick  mists  and  con- 
"  trary  winds.  As  the  water  gave  out  and  scurvy  came  the  ship 
"once  more  found  itself  among  a  labyrinth  of  islands  with  high 
"  peaks  looming  in  the  distance,  the  largest  then  in  view  was  named 
"  Eudokia."  On  his  small  chart  he  applies  the  name  to  the  largest 
island.  This  Eudokia  is  the  Agaiak  of  Tebenkof  and  its  height  is 
reported  1500  feet,  whence  its  summit  is  visible  from  a  ship's  deck 
at  forty  miles.  Bering  was  probably  twenty  miles  to  the  eastward 
of  it.  In  the  Greek  Church  the  day  of  St.  Eudokiia  [Eudoxia]  is 
March  ist,  one  day  before  Bering  saw  Foggy  Island. 

The  Adjustment  Between  the  Simidi  and  Shumagin  Groups. 

From  this  position  to  that  of  August  29th,  when  the  St.  Peter 
reached  the  large  island  of  Nagai  of  the  Shumagin  group,  controlled 


Bering  and  Chirikoj  37 

also  in  latitude  by  obseivatious  on  the  8th,  i8th  and  28th,  the  St. 
Peter  was  baffled  by  unkuovvti  and  couflictiug  curieuts,  by  fogs  and 
by  calms,  and  probably  sailed  not  more  than  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  miles.  In  order  to  maintain  the  general  characteristics  of  the 
courses  laid  down  in  the  Bering  chart,  and  yet  conform  to  the  geo- 
graphical positions  noted  above,  much  care  is  required  in  the  ad- 
justment. In  the  modern  chart  the  difference  of  latitude  between 
Cowiet  and  Nagai  Islands  is  1°  02'  of  latitude  and  3"  07'  of  longi- 
tude; on  the  Bering  map  these  quantities  are  respectively  30'  and 
5°;  and  on  the  Waxell  map  20'  and  more  than  4''.  Thus  it  is  seen 
that  they  are  verj'  erroneous  in  direction  and  distance:  on  the  mod- 
ern chart  the  south  end  of  Nagai  bears  S.  60^  W.,  and  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  miles  distant  from  Cowiet;  on  Bering's  chart  S.  80" 
W.  and  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles,  and  on  Waxell's  S.  80" 
W.  and  two  hundred  miles  distant. 

If  is  very  probable  that  no  two  persons  will  make  exactly  the 
same  adjustment;  and  yet  there  can  be  no  material  or  essential 
difierences. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever,  that  the  two  groups  of  islands 
are  the  Simidi  and  the  Shumagin  of  modern  charts.  The  charts  of 
Bering  and  of  Waxell  are  themselves  conclusive;  Bering's  boats 
under  Chitrof  and  Waxell  made  a  seven  days'  exploration  of  the 
latter  group;  buried  orie  of  the  crew  there,  (the  first  of  twenty-one 
who  died)  and  Waxell  had  slight  communication  with  a  few  of  the 
natives,  among  whom  he  saw  a  knife  of  peculiar  make.  The  num- 
ber and  general  relations  of  the  two  groups  are  satisfaotory;  Ber- 
ing's soundings  off  the  groups  clinch  the  matter. 

The  Movements  of  Chirikof  from   August    ist   when  off 
Cape  Elizabeth. 

At  this  point  in  the  investigation  it  is  interesting  to  bring  forward 
the  movement  of  Chirikof's  vessel.  On  the  ist  of  August  she  was 
twenty  miles  to  the  Southeastward  of  Cape  Elizabeth,  and  thence  her 
general  course  was  a  little  to  the  west  of  south,  passing  close  to 
Marmot  Island  in  58°  15'  on  the  2nd.  This  is  probably  the  land  he 
sighted  that  day. 

The  checks  for  the  determination  of  Chirikof's  positions  are  few. 
(i)  Probably  tWQ.H^ore  glimpses  of  Kadiak  Island  on  the  3rd  and 
4th,,(2).observations, for  latitude  on  the  I oth  and  i8th;  (3)  sight- 


38  The   Tracks  and  Landfalls  of 

ing  the  Island  of  Unimak  aud  the  Islands  of  the  Four  Mountains  on 
the  4th  of  September;  (4)  and  of  Adahk  Island  on  the  9th. 

In  such  a  long  period  it  is  necessary  to  consider  the  conditions  of 
the  weather  from  the  last  named  date  backward  to  the  30th  of  Au- 
gust when  he  took  favorable  winds;  and  to  give  large  weight  to  the 
courses  and  distances  which  he  has  plotted.  This  we  have  done 
with  some  allowance  for  the  effects  of  currents. 

The  Two  Vessels  Close  to  Each  Other  for  Many  Days. 

The  independent  adjustment  of  the  courses  and  distances  of  Ber- 
ing and  Chirikof  within  the  dates  August  Sth  aud  30th  reveal  a  re- 
markably close  proximity  of  the  two  vessels  for  more  than  two  weeks. 
The  courses  cross  each  other  several  times;  the  winds  were  light 
and  bafSing,  and  thick  weather  prevailed.  On  the  i6th  of  August, 
the  vessels  were  probably  within  fifteen  miles  of  each  other.  On 
the  I  Sth  they  both  got  observations  for  latitude  and  the  St.  Paul 
was  only  thirty  miles  to  the  northwestward  of  the  St.  Peter.  They 
were  working  slowly  to  the  westward  with  light  airs,  and  on  the 
2ist  they  must  have  entered  an  area  of  calm  and  clouds.  In  nine 
days  from  the  21st,  Chirikof  made  only  thirty-five  miles  to  the 
northwestward;  on  the  21st  Bering  got  a  light  air  and  two  days 
after  he  was  forty  miles  north  of  Chirikof.  Here  he  was  baffled  for 
four  days  with  calm  weather,  aud  then  got  a  fair  wind,  so  that  he 
ran  northward  and  made  the  mountain  cape  of  Nagai,  the  large, 
middle  island  of  the  Shumagin  group  on  the  29th..  On  the  30th, 
Chirikof,  then  in  latitude  52°  35'  ran  with  a  fair  wind  directly  west. 
After  the  ist  of  September,  he  was  within  the  arc  of  visibility  of 
Makushin  Volcano  5,691  feet  elevation,  on  the  island  of  Unalaska; 
and  continued  within  the  arc  of  visibility  of  the  successive  moun- 
tains of  Umnak,  Four  Mountains,  etc.  to  the  12th  of  September, 
when  he  was  about  thirty  miles  south  of  Adakh  Island  in  latitude 
51°  08',  and  longitude  I77°W.  His  chart  indicates  that  he  saw  the 
land  only  on  the  4th  and  9th  of  September,  both  of  which  fairly 
well-establish  his  position.     We  follow  him  no  farther. 

We  believe  the  foregoing  exhibit  of  the  two  vessels  for  more  than 
two  weeks  within  a  limited  and  calm  area  has  not  before  been  made. 

We  believe  this  calm  period  was  an  early  exhibition  of  the  "Indian 
Summer, ' '  well  known  along  the  northwest  coast;  short,  hazy,  smoky 
and  restful.     It  comes  later  in  the  Puget  Sound  region,  and  is  full 


Beritig  aiid  Chirikof  39 

of  repose.     The  St.   Martin's  Summer  of  the  Mediterranean  coun- 
tries. 

Both  crews  must  have  felt  the  benefit  of  this  calm  weather,  which 
seems  to  have  continued  with  the  St.  Peter  through  the  reconnais- 
sance of  the  Shumagins. 

Bering's  Survby  of  the  Shumagin  Islands. 

The  time  consumed  by  Bering  in  making  an  examination  of  the 
Shumagin  group  necessarily  had  an  important  bearing  upon  his 
future  progress,  because  it  threw  him  later  into  the  bad  weather  of 
September;  and  when  he  left  the  group  on  the  6th,  running  south 
for  ninety-five  miles;  and  on  the  8th  of  September  made  a  westerly 
course,  he  was  more  than  sixteen  degrees  of  longitude  or  six  hun- 
dred miles  behind  the  St.  Paul.  But  the  examination  was  so  well 
done  that  no  doubt  whatever  remains  of  his  position.  Had  he 
merely  made  the  land  and  then  continued  his  course  westward,  it 
would  have  been  difficult  to  reconcile  his  positions  and  courses  be- 
tween that  group  and  the  Simidi. 

Lauridsen  says  that  Bering's  journal  places  them  in  latitude  54° 
48';  remarking  that  it  had  the  usual  error  of  about  30'  to  45'  too 
small.  His  chart  places  the  first  anchorage  in  55°  28';  this  anchor- 
age we  identify  by  Near  Island  which  lies  three  miles  to  the  east- 
northeast  of  the  first  anchorage  under  the  southern  part  of  Nagai 
Island.     On  recent  charts  it  is  in  latitude  54°  56'. 

Bering  gave  the  name  Shumagin  not  to  the  whole  group  but  to 
the  island  where  the  sailor  Shumagin  died  as  he  was  being  taken 
ashore.  This  was  on  the  southeastern  part  of  the  island  of  Nagai 
where  he  first  anchored.  We  find  no  recorded  observation  here; 
but  after  the  examination  of  the  group,  observations  for  latitude 
were  obtained  at  the  second  anchorage  under  the  eastern  side  of  the 
small,  but  very  high  island  of  Chernobur  (1500  feet.)  This  anchor- 
age is  in  latitude  54°  47'  which  agrees  with  the  statement  of  the 
journal  but  the  chart  in  Lauridsen  makes  this  latitude  55°  15'. 
Miiller  says  "these  islands  are  situated  in  latitude  55"  25'";  but 
the  northern  part  of  the  largest  one  of  the  group  only  is  in  latitude 
55°  23';  and  the  northernmost  in  ss**  33'. 

If  Bering's  observation  at  Chernobur  Island  placed  him  in  54° 
48'  he  was  within  one  mile  of  the  latest  determination. 


40  The   Tracks  and  LajidfaUs  of 

Bering's  Health  Breaks  Down. — Waxell  in  Command. 

Bering  was  now  in  a  very  bad  physical  condition  with  the  scurvy; 
he  rallied  somewhat  under  the  treatment  of  Steller,  who  obtained 
antiscorbutic  plants  from  the  shore.  Waxell  was  put  in  command. 
He  endeavored  to  have  some  communication  with  the  natives,  but 
both  parties  were  distrustful  of  each  other. 

We  now  follow  the  St.  Peter  from  September  6th  to  September 
24th,  during  which  period  the  ship  made  fair  progress  to  the  south 
and  west.  They  obtained  observations  for  latitude  on  the  13th, 
15th,  22nd,  and  made  the  high  mountain  on  Atkha  Island  on  the 
24th.  When  she  left  the  Shumagins  she  ran  south  to  latitude  53°, 
and  then  changed  her  course  to  the  W.  SW.  She  was  apparently 
just  outside  the  arc  of  visibility  of  the  high  mountains  part  of  the 
time;  but  her  general  course  was  parallel  to  the  Aleutian  chain; 
and  their  chart  lays  down  a  line  of  islands  seen  to  the  northward 
from  the  13th  to  the  24th.  With  clear  weather  on  the  22nd  and 
23rd,  the  vessel  steered  northward  until  -the  24th,  when,  by  our 
adjustment,  she  was  in  latitude  51°  42'  and  longitude  170°  40'  W. 
distant  twenty  miles  from  the  island  of  Atkha  with  its  high  vol- 
canic peak  Korovenskaye  4,988  feet  above  the  sea,  and  visible  at 
eighty-one  nautical  miles.  According  to  Bancroft  they  made  the 
land  unexpectedly,  and  finally  escaped  from  its  dangerous  shores. 

The  St.  Peter's  course  had  crossed  that  of  the  St.  Paul's  several 
times,  and  at  the  last  date  mentioned  Bering  was  nearly  seventy 
miles  east  of  where  Chirikof  had  been  on  the  8th.  Miiller  says, 
that  on  the  24th  Bering  saw  one  of  the  highest  snow  capped  moun- 
tains on  the  coast,  and  as  that  was  the  church  day  of  the  Conception 
of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  that  name  was  given  to  it.  It  is  in  latitude 
52°  24',  longitude  174"  20'  west;  but  on  Waxell's  chart  he  specific- 
ally names  "  St.  John  Mt.",  and  places  it  in  latitude  53"  19'.  Wax- 
ell evidently  supposed  it  was  on  mainland  beyond  the  island 
they  had  in  sight.  Jeffery's  republication  of  the  chart  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Sciences  places  Mt.  St.  John  in  latitude  53°  30';  and 
Bering's  position  is  in  51°  30'. 

This  mountain  has  given  rise  to  dispute  on  account  ot  a  high 
mountain  seen  by  Chirikof  presumably  in  this  region.  Miiller  says 
they  computed  their  position  to  be  in  latitude  51°  27';  afterwards  to 
determine  the  location  of  the  coast  more  exactly  it  was  estimated 
to  be  in  52°  30' ;  but  Chirikof  who  had  been  on  this  part  of  the 
coast  placed  it  in  51°  12'.     Chirikof's  date  for  this  position  is  given 


Bering  and  Chirikof  41 

as  September  20th  by  Miiller;  but  bis  plotted  latitude  for  that  date 
is  52°  32';  aud  he  was  directly  west  of  bis  observed  latitude  of  52° 
30'  (chart)  on  the  i8th.  This  latter  observation  must  have  been 
erroneous  because  there  is  no  land  so  far  north.  The  fact  is  the 
vessels  were  far  apart,  and  they  saw  different  mountains  on  differ- 
ent islands. 

About  the  latitude  of  52°,  and  longitude  174°  to  179°  west,  there 
are  five  peaks  that  range  from  4,988  feet  to  6,974  feet  in  elevation, 
and  they  rise  sharply  from  the  water.  They  are  visible  from  eighty 
to  ninety-five  nautical  miles. 

If  Chirikof  found  land  as  far  south  as  51°  12'  on  the  12th  of  Sep- 
tember (Miiller  p.  55)  he  was  under  the  island  Amatignak  in  longi- 
tude 179°  west;  it  is  about  seven  miles  in  extent  and  1,921  feet 
elevation,  with  profound  depths  of  water  around  it.  He  had  no 
latitude  observations  for  one  month  and  no  reliance  whatever  can 
be  placed  upon  his  dead  reckoning.  Erroneous  reckoning,  and 
irregular  currents  controlled  his  estimates  of  position.  At  the  date 
last  mentioned  Chirikof  was  unable  to  move  on  account  of  scurvy, 
and  his  astronomer  was  reduced  to  the  same  condition. 

A  few  words  more  and  we  carry  the  St.  Peter  to  the  limit  of  our 
chart.  Adverse  winds  from  the  west  and  W.  SW.  forced  the  brig 
to  the  southeast  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  by  the  30th  of  Sept- 
ember. The  winter  winds  and  storms  battered  her  to  the  north, 
east,  and  again  to  the  south,  where  we  fix  her  position  somewhat 
clearly  as  to  latitude  by  four  observations  of  the  7th,  8th,  nth  and 
1 6th  of  October.  The  ocean  current,  the  northern  edge  of  the 
Japanese  Kuro  Siwa,  moved  her  to  the  eastward.  The  vessel  had 
been  driven  as  far  south  as  48°  15',  about  longitude  170°  \V.;  had 
worked  to  the  northward  to  50°  and  then  steered  westward.  On 
the  19th  of  October,  she  was  in  latitude  49°  30'  and  in  the  longitude 
177°  00'  directly  south  of  Adakh  Island  which  the  St.  Paul  had 
passed  on  the  12th  of  September.  What  Chirikof's  estimated  longi- 
tude really  was  it  is  difficult  to  say. 

Conclusion. — Character  of  the  Men   of  the  Expedition. 

We  have  thus  brought  to  a  close  the  task  which  we  impcsed 
upon  ourselves.  We  believe  we  have  solved,  in  large  measure, 
some  of  the  difficulties  of  reconciliation  in  the  tracks  and  landfalls 
of  two  heroic  men  who  were  supported  by  officers  and  men  of  the 
same  character. 


42  The   Tracks  and  Landfalls  of 

They  were  men  who  had  overcome  eight  years  of  extraordinary 
difiBculties,  with  wretched  means,  imperfect  instruments,  crude 
methods,  and  that  terrible  scourge  of  the  sea,  scurvy,  as  their  con- 
stant bedfellow. 

They  pushed  into  a  trackless  region  of  storms,  fogs,  mists  and 
rain;  of  strong  and  unknown  currents;  a  wilderness  of  islands; 
mountainous  shores;  deep  waters  and  exposed  anchorages. 

They  were  comparatively  many  in  numbers  and  crowded  into 
small  vessels  that  to-day  would  not  be  permitted  to  leave  our  ports. 
There  food  was  coarse,  and  their  remedies  in  sickness  crude,  and 
in  scurvy  useless.  When  the  slow  death  of  that  disease  reached 
them,  the  survivors  were  utterly  unable  to  man  the  ships;  they 
dropped  dead  as  they  reached  the  fresh  air  of  the  deck.  Steller 
has  graphically  described  the  storms  and  dangers  they  encountered, 
and  their  dreadful  slow  death  sufferings;  these  were  almost  incred- 
ible. Miiller,  speaking  of  the  condition  of  the  vessel  and  crew  be- 
fore the  abatement  of  the  westerly  storms  about  October  12th,  says: 
"  Many  of  the  ship's  crew  had  before  been  taken  sick,  but  now  the 
"scurvy  began  to  break  out  more  and  more;  seldom  a  day  passed 
"without  some  one  of  them  dying,  and  scarce  so  many  retained 
"  their  health  as  were  necessary  to  govern  the  ship." 

A  Council  of  officers  was  called  to  decide  whether  they  should 
endeavor  to  reach  Kamchatka,  or  seek  a  harbor  on  the  American 
coast  in  which  to  winter.  The  decision  was  to  try  and  reach 
Kamchatka. 

These  were  the  men  who  discovered  and  fixed  the  geographical 
position  of  part  of  the  northwest  coast  of  America  through  dangers, 
trials  and  privations  that  compel  our  deepest  sympathy  and  our 
unqualified  admiration.  They  gave  vitality  to  the  long  dormant 
energy  and  interest  of  discovery  and  exploration  on  this  coast.  To- 
day the  United  States  is  the  possessor  of  591,000  square  miles  of 
Alaska  with  its  coast  line  of  26,364  miles  and  its  large  wealth,  by 
the  rights  derived  from  these  Russian  discoveries;  but  the  govern- 
ment takes  no  note  of  these  heroic  men  who  gave  their  lives  to 
gain  it. 

•'There  were  giants  in  the  earth  in  those  days." 


Bering  and  Chirikof  43 

APPENDIX. 
Bering's  First  Anchorage  Under  Kayak  Island. 

On  the  6th  of  May  1778,  Captain  Cook  was  off  the  Alaska  coast, 
westward  of  "Mount  Fair  Weather,"  and  passing  a  recession  of 
the  shore  marked  by  a  wooded  island  at  the  southeast  part  of  that 
indentation,  he  decided  that  it  was  the  bay  and  anchorage  of  Ber- 
ing under  Cape  St.  Elias,  and  on  his  chart  he  named  it  Bhering's 
Bay.  In  his  narrative  he  names  it  Beering's  Bay.  It  is  the  present 
Yakutat  Bay  of  our  charts,  and  lies  over  five  degrees  of  longitude 
or  150  nautical  miles  east  of  the  actual  anchorage  of  Bering. 

In  17S6,  La  Perouse,  called  the  Port  Mulgrave  of  Yakutat  Bay 
the  Baie  de  Monti,  and  fixed  Bering's  Bay  at  the  mouth  of  the  All- 
segh'  River,  where  there  is  no  bay  and  no  anchorage.  It  is  seven 
degrees  of  longitude  east  of  Bering's  anchorage. 

In  1787,  the  fur  traders  Portlock  and  Dixon  placed  Bhering's  or 
Beering's  bay  east  of  Admiralty  or  Yakutat  Bay. 

In  1792,  the  chart  of  the  Sutil  y  Mexicana  places  Bering's 
anchorage  at  the  All-segh'  River. 

In  1794,  Vancouver  followed  Cook  and  places  Beering's  Bay  at 
Yakutat. 

It  would  appear  that  one  authority  who  had  recognized  the  Ber- 
ing anchorage  has  been  overlooked. 

On  the  I  ith  of  February  1779,  the  fragatas  Princesa  and  Favorita, 
under  the  commands  of  Lieuts.  Arteaga  and  Bodega  respectively, 
left  San  Bias  to  reach  the  70°  of  latitude  on  the  northwest  coast  of 
America.  When  north  of  55°  they  followed  the  coast  closely,  and 
on  the  17th  of  July  arrived  at  Cape  San  Elias,  sailed  around  Kayak 
Island,  found  the  shelter  which  it  afforded  and  declared  this  gulf 
(seno)  was  manifestly  the  exact  locality  which  had  been  seen  by 
Captain  Bering. 

We  present  the  title  of  the  MS.  in  our  possession,  and  the  extract 
covering  the  above  declaration: 

"  Tercera  exploration  hecha  el  ano  de  1779  con  las  fragatas  del 
Rey,  La  Princesa,  mandada  por  el  Teniente  de  Navio  Dn.  Ygnacio 
Arteaga,  y  [Virgen  de  los  Remedios,  alias]  la  Favorita,  por  el  de  la 
misma  clase  Dn.  Juan  Francisco  de  la  Bodega  y  Cuadra,  desde  el 
puerto  de  San  Bias  hasta  los  61^  de  latitud  :" 


44  The   Tracks  and  Landfalls  of  Bering  and  Chirikof 

"Julio  17,  latitude  59°  44':  37°  12'  longitude  [west  from  Cape 
"  San  lyUcas.]  El  17  a  la  1^2  de  la  tarde  se  hallaban  a  distancia  de 
' '  uua  legua  de  la  boca  que  forman  el  Cabo  de  San  Elias  y  la  punta 
"del  NE.  de  la  Ysla  inmediate,  cuya  canal  apenas  sera  de  3  leguas 
"  y  a  la  punta  del  oeste  de  el  hay  dos  pequeiias  Yslas. 

"  Desde  la  punta  del  cabo  vuelve  la  tierra  por  poca  distancia  al  NE. 
"haciendo  ensenadas  que  prometen  abrigos,  y  sigue  despues  al 
"  norueste,  y  oesnorueste  y  oeste  formando  un  seno  que  manifestaba 
"exactamente  haber  sido  visto  por  el  Capitan  Berin.  El  mismo  dia 
"  corrieron  la  parte  oriental  de  la  Ysla,  y  deblaron  su  cabeza  del 
"sur,  donde  vieron  un  Yslote,  y  penas  anegadas  inmediatas  a  ellas. 

"  El  Cabo  de  San  Elias  lo  situaron  sobre  59°  53',  de  latitud  y  lo 
"  consideran  al  oeste  de  San  Lucas  57"  14' ,  [this  should  be  37°  14' , 
"  G.  D.;]  iSth  latitud  59°  48',  longitude  38°  21'    *  *  *." 

Tebenkof,  in  the  hydrographic  notes  to  his  great  Atlas,  describes 
the  characteristics  of  Controllers  Bay,  the  mouths  of  the  Copper 
River,  etc.,  refers  to  Bering  anchoring  near  Kayak  Island,  and  then 
makes  an  explanation  of  the  name. 

He  says  that  every  j'ear  the  Tchugatz,  (Prince  William  Sound,) 
and  the  Yakootat  Indians  meet  at  the  Copper  Riv.er  to  barter;  and 
that  the  Russians  first  learned  of  the  shoal  water  between  the  main- 
land and  Kayak  Island,  and  off  the  delta  of  the  Copper  River  from 
them.  He  further  states  that  all  places  east  to  Yakootat  bay  have 
each  four  names;  given  by  the  Tchugatz,  the  Oogalentz,  the  Copper 
River  Indians,  and  the  Koloshes;  and  that  the  name  Kayak  is 
Koloshian. 


OS 


THE   TRACKS  AND    LANDFALLS 

OF 

BERING  AND    CHIRIKOF 

ON    THE 

NORTHWEST  COAST  OF  AMERICA 

FROM  THE    POINT  OT  SEPARATION   JUNE  20-2IVI7/.I 
LAT  49°IO'N.  LONG  I76'i,0' W.  (bOTH    APPROX.) 
TO  THE  SAME  MERIDIAN    ON  THEIR    RETURN 
JUNE,JULY.  AUGUST.SEPTEMB€R,  OCTOBER 


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